Sam Mustipher’s protection struggles continued versus the Giants
While the Chicago Bears’ offensive line has struggled to keep Justin Fields safe this year, stats show many of these issues are because of starting center Sam Mustipher.
In the Bears’ week 4 loss against the New York Giants, the offensive line allowed 14 QB pressures, and seven of those pressures were attributed to Mustipher alone.
Bears C Sam Mustipher Allowed 7 HURRIES. That is hard to do from the C position. He graded out w a meager 8.3 pass-blocking grade on PFF. If Lucas Patrick isn’t ready to move to C soon I’d look to make a roster move. #DaBears #Bears #Chicago
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) October 3, 2022
Interior defensive linemen do not typically rush the QB that often, so giving up that much pressure from the interior shows how much Mustipher struggled. Fields was pressured on 51.4% of his dropbacks last week, so it’s obvious that something needs to change.
However, it does not seem like the Bears will be able to make significant changes with the line as guard Cody Whitehair is expected to miss significant time with his knee injury.
Cody Whitehair is going to miss “some time” according to Matt Eberflus, who reiterates the guard has a knee injury. Bears say they’re not sure what time frame for return is but will use same lineup they had once Whitehair exited vs NYG – Jones, Patrick, Mustipher, Jenkins, Borom.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 3, 2022
For now, it seems like Mustipher will keep being the starting center every week despite his poor play. The Bears added centers, Lucas Patrick and rookie Doug Kramer in the offseason, but injuries have kept both players out of that role. Hopefully, Mustipher’s pass protection can improve because the Bears do not have any other options at center right now.
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