Bears draw winning hand with offensive-line discards

When Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan told center Sam Mustipher last week that he no longer was starting, Mustipher didn’t take it well.

‘‘I was pissed, furious,’’ Mustipher said. ‘‘I could use profanity to describe how I was feeling at that point, but that was tough. Because I’m all about the Bears and wanting to help the Bears win. And for me to feel like it came down on my shoulders . . . ’’

And then the discipline that turned Mustipher from an undrafted free agent into an NFL starter in the first place prevailed.

‘‘When you get benched, you’ve got to be honest with yourself,’’ Mustipher said. ‘‘Obviously, what I was doing wasn’t good enough. And that’s what they felt. I could have sulked. I could have pouted. But once the initial sting wears off, you’ve got to be a man. I looked myself in the mirror, and I was like: ‘Here’s the things I’ve got to improve on. And the next time I get on the football field, I can leave no doubt.’ ’’

To Mustipher’s surprise, that opportunity came only 10 snaps into his benching when his replacement, Lucas Patrick, suffered a toe injury in the first quarter Monday against the Patriots. (Patrick still was being examined Tuesday, and coach Matt Eberflus said his status is ‘‘wait and see.’’) Mustipher got the call and went to work.

And he got the job done. The Bears rushed for 243 yards, averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored on seven of Mustipher’s first eight possessions in a 33-14 upset at Gillette Stadium. But as much as he plays on emotion, Mustipher wasn’t going to call it a storybook ending.

‘‘I wasn’t inspired [by the benching]; that stuff’s for Disney movies,’’ Mustipher said. ‘‘I wanted to go out there and affect winning. I wanted to help the Bears win. That’s the mentality I take into every game. It was the same [Monday] night. As soon as Lucas went down, I was like, ‘All right, how can I help these guys win?’ That’s what it’s about.’’

It was that kind of game for the Bears. An offensive line identified during the mini-bye as an area that needed improvement responded in a big moment — aided, no doubt, by a game plan that used quarterback Justin Fields as well as in any game he has played for the Bears.

‘‘Elation,’’ Mustipher said. ‘‘Fate, if that’s what you want to call it. It’s cool to see all that work come to fruition [after] the roller coaster of emotions that I had [last] week.’’

And the Bears did it with two discards. Not only Mustipher, but guard Michael Schofield, who had been cut in training camp and then re-signed Sept. 14. He started at left guard when Patrick was moved to center.

Schofield, a graduate of Sandburg High School in Orland Park, is in his eighth NFL season and started on the Broncos’ Super Bowl-winning team after the 2015 season. But this was a moment to remember.

‘‘It was pretty cool, pretty special moment for me,’’ Schofield said. ‘‘First game starting as a Bear. Beating the Patriots is always a fun thing to do. So it was good, very special.’’

Schofield had been 2-4 in his career against the Patriots before Monday, including a 41-28 loss with the Chargers in the AFC Championship Game in the playoffs after the 2018 season.

‘‘We thought we had a hell of a team, and we got [to Gillette Stadium] and they kicked our ass,’’ Schofield said.

So the victory Monday was particularly gratifying for Schofield, especially during a difficult season that had left his NFL future up in the air.

‘‘It’s definitely pretty good for me,’’ he said. ‘‘Just how the season went — obviously getting cut and being able to start a game and [I] played pretty decent — it’s exciting. Crazy how it works out.’’