Star-Bound
The rookie came in for Langford and rushed nine times for 45 yards. He didn’t have a score but he did almost lose a fumble. It was a mediocre debut. Seeing that, would the coaching staff give him the start against Detroit the following week?
The coaching staff put Howard in as the starter in Week 4 and he shined. He carried the ball 23 times for 111 yards. He did add three receptions for 21 yards also and showed that he could carry the load. The coaching staff had to be pleased with what they saw. Was he the real deal? Could he continue to be a workhorse for the Bear’s offense?
Week 5, against Indianapolis, saw Howard top his previous week’s total as he went for 118 yards on 16 carries. He had a long of 57 yards which was the longest run by a Bears running back in quite a while. He appeared to be solid and looked like he might have been the back who should have been starting to begin with.
Howard was not as effective against the Jaguars in the sixth week of the season. Some of that can’t be attributed to his play but more to the offensive line play and play calling. The Bears ran the ball 27 times with Howard having 15 of those carries. In addition to the carries, Carey was having some success. He rushed just nine times for 50 yards.
This past Thursday against the Green Bay Packers, Howard had a pretty tough game. He rushed just seven times for 22 yards. Carey seemed to have the hotter hand in that game as he had ten rushes for 48 yards. Overall, it was another stagnant effort by the Bears rushing the football.