Chicago Bears: Former WR explains Jordan Howard struggles

The Chicago Bears offense has suddenly become one of the best in the NFL, at least from a passing perspective. Running the ball? That’s another story.

Jordan Howard was the offense throughout 2016 and 2017. Most expected him to remain a big part of it going into this year. Yet that hasn’t been the case. Howard is averaging 3.4 yards per carry this season. That’s almost two full yards less than his rookie years. He’s made do with five touchdowns thus far but it’s clear he’s not as dynamic on the ground as he’s been in the past. People are continuing to wonder why.

Is he hurt? Has he simply lost his mojo? Does head coach Matt Nagy have no clue how to use him? Usually, the answer is never one thing but there may be an explanation behind this. One where nobody is really at fault. It’s just an unfortunate fact surrounding the shift in offensive schemes. Former Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones knows what’s happening. He explained the issue on NFL Network while previewing the upcoming game against Minnesota.

"“Dove into this game on the set of “The Power Rankings Show” (shameless plug: Tuesdays at 6 p.m. ET on NFL Network), with my colleague James Jones explaining why we haven’t seen more from Jordan Howard in the Bears’ offense. Jones feels that Matt Nagy’s primary focus is to show the defense something different every play, starting with formations, which can negate consistently running the ball downhill. Save for some truly special running backs, most ball carriers need the consistency of touches to get into a rhythm.”"

Jordan Howard has always been a runner at his best with lots of touches

Howard is what they call a “volume” carrier. The more he gets the ball in a game, the more effective he becomes. He has that ability to wear down a defense until they eventually break in the 4th quarter. That’s great for an offense that wants to run the ball consistently. For an offense like Nagy’s? Not so much. Nagy runs a West Coast-style system. This means a pass-first style with sporadic mixes of running the ball to keep defenses honest.

Typically more explosive backs work better in this scheme because they only need a handful of opportunities to break a big gain. Think of it this way. Howard has run for over 100 yards in a game four times in his career when he got fewer than 20 carries. That number jumps to eight when he’s gone 20 or more. By comparison, Kareem Hunt in Kansas City has three 100-yard games under 20 and four at 20 or more. A far more even ratio.

That’s why he had much more success in the Nagy system. He can survive and even thrive on sporadic workloads. There’s still time for the Bears to figure this thing out. Nagy is an adaptable coach and he promised Howard he’d find a way to get him going. With seven games left, there are opportunities in front of them to do that. It’s a matter of whether Howard can adjust to a less rhythmic style or Nagy can call better plays.