Chicago Bears: Jordan Howard Is Still Underappreciated

Seriously. Why is everybody talking about Ezekiel Elliott and not Jordan Howard these days? It’s a fair question that continued to get ignored.

Playing for the Dallas Cowboys has a part in it but it might be time to look at the stats and wonder how in the world Howard continues to be so disregarded by the national mainstream. Care for an education? Let’s start with the basics. Howard ranked 4th in the NFL with 662 yards rushing and four touchdowns through eight games. The three men ahead of him are Kareem Hunt, Le’Veon Bell and Elliott. All three of them have something in common.

They’re all teamed with Pro Bowl quarterbacks.

Hunt has Alex Smith. Bell has Ben Roethlisberger. Elliott has Dak Prescott. Howard is shouldered with Mitch Trubisky. Though talented he’s a rookie and has zero offensive weapons at wide receiver to scare defenses away. Howard has faced by far the most stacked boxed of the four. Hunt has seen 33.56%, Elliott 30.49% and Bell 22.16%. Howard? He’s seen an absurd 46.91% of eight or nine defenders in the box when he takes a hand-off.

Howard is getting his yards despite every effort to stop him

It’s fair to wonder how those other backs might’ve done under similar circumstances. Better yet it’s worth wondering how much better Howard would be doing if the passing attack was worth anything at all. He’s averaging 4.1 yards per carry but averaged 5.2 last season when the Bears were able to throw for over 4,000 yards as a team. The injuries at wide receiver and presence of a rookie QB have seriously dampened his effectiveness. This despite the fact he’s on course for 1,324 yards and eight touchdowns. Both of which would eclipse his totals as a rookie.

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Nobody would dare make the comparison but this is Walter Payton levels of productivity in the face of defenses selling out to stop him. They load the box, they game plan and none of it matters. He finds a way to get it done. The scariest fact of all? He’s only 22-years old. Provided the Bears can keep the carry count reasonable and can clear out the crowded line of scrimmage, he could be doing this for the next 7-8 years easy.