There haven't been a ton of bright spots about the 2016 NFL season for the Chicago Bears. Injuries have decimated the roster. The team is just over one half away from finishing with its worst record ever in a 16-game season (3-13). John Fox will return as head coach but is surrounded by question of whether or not he can get this organization pointed in the right direction. That doesn't mean it's all bad though. Jordan Howard has been pretty.
Damn good, in fact. The kid was a borderline unknown back in April when the Bears took him in the fifth round of the draft. At best people expected him to become a solid backup to Jeremy Langford, who hoped to fulfill the daunting task of replacing Matt Forte. Just a few months later Howard not only leapfrogged Langford on the depth chart as starter, but he accomplished something even more special.
He set the franchise mark for most rushing yards ever by a rookie. A record set by none other than Forte himself back in 2008.
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/815635848628752384
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/815635719288799232
People don't understand how amazing a story Howard is. Just two years ago he was an emerging talent at the University of Alabama-Birmingham only to see the entire football program shut down. For a time it looked like his football life was going down the toilet. He transferred to Indiana shortly later and emerged as their starter at running back in rapid sequence. Before long draft scouts were taking notice.
Even then it was difficult to get on his bandwagon. He wasn't overly explosive or fast and had some minor health concerns. Thus he fell to the fifth round where the Bears were surprised to find him still on the board. Ryan Pace couldn't afford to pass him up and pulled the trigger. Six months later Howard is now the unquestioned best offensive player Chicago has and seems to get better each week.
At halftime he was on pace for 186 yards (93 on 15 carries). He needed 61 to break the record.
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