Howard excels again on not-just another work day
PHILADELPHIA >> The waiting being the hardest part, Jordan Howard’s back played host to only a couple of reporters at first. It slowly grew from there.
A somewhat satisfying but less than complete 2214 Eagles victory over his old team, the formerly good Chicago Bears, in the books on this Sunday, Howard was taking his time absorbing the feeling.
Taking his time with interview preparation, he paused to sneak a word or two with next-stall neighbor and backfield mate Miles Sanders as the accompanying crowd continued to grow. And when finally Howard seemed ready, he turned ... and left without a word.
That left the nervously grinning rookie from Penn State to play the part of PR guy.
“Jordan’s so ... well, you can’t really read Jordan,” Sanders said about his veteran cohort. “He’s so quiet, he comes to work and he’s so focused all the time. But I think it’s just another game to him. He understands it’s the team he just came from but it’s another game to him. He just came out and balled.”
As he does every week, Howard put in another steady work day, even if it was a bit of a special occasion for him.
Handed the ball 19 times, he rushed for 82 yards and turned one into a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 19-0 lead early in the third quarter.
Along with that, there were the usual decoys and blocks and full shift of professionalism that Howard has brought to the table all season long. Not bad for a guy acquired from the Bears for a seemingly undervalued, conditional sixth-round draft pick. This despite his having averaged well over 1,000 rushing yards per season during his three years with the Bears.
You think that might motivate a guy?
Despite Sanders’ best guess that this was just another afternoon shift for Howard, you bet that motivated him.
“I definitely wanted to get this win,” Howard said. “Bill’s the next game (the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick), so I definitely wanted to get this win against my old team. I was definitely amped up for it a little more.”
That was especially noticeable after halftime, with the Eagles having fallen short on two long first-half drives which provided only Jake Elliott field goals.
But they scored a second-quarter touchdown on a Zach Ertz TD catch, then after intermission embarked on an eight-play, 84yard drive, Howard bursting through for the final 13 on his way to the end zone.
“It felt great,” Howard said about his touchdown ... after a post-shower return followed by another drawn out preparation process at the locker stall.
“I almost pulled a DJack (DeSean Jackson, who is a noun now),” Howard added. “I almost tossed the ball too early. I was glad I crossed the line before I threw it back but it felt great.”
In going against his old team, Howard renewed some acquaintances beforehand, and stirred up a few talking points during the game.
“I did a little more talking than I usually do,” Howard confided. “Just a little back and forth with the guys. Everything else was normal. I didn’t really go against them much at practice (during his Chicago days) and they never really tackled me then, so, it was definitely a little strange.
“They were staying stuff to me. I know I have a relationship with them and we were going back and forth a little bit.”
Volleying verbal swipes with old friends doesn’t seem to be a typical part of Howard’s agenda. But as for the rock-solid support he gave Carson Wentz and an otherwise struggling Eagles offense, there was nothing out of the ordinary for that.
Even if it’s not something that’s commonly talked about around the league.
“I’m pretty quiet myself,” Sanders insisted, “but he’s way more quiet than me. He’s steady Eddie. Comes to work every day.”
What was working fine for the Eagles – basically the running game of Sanders and Howard – bogged a bit in the second half, however.
Having built the 19-point lead, the Eagles opted to throw a little more, which only served to give the Bears a chance to get back in the game via a couple of rushing TDs by one of Howard’s discount replacements, David Montgomery. He was part of a Bears rushing effort that totaled 62 yards on a day that quarterback Mitch Trubisky was a lot worse than the 10for-21, 125 yards, no TDs and
66.6 rating that showed up under his name in the stats.
But the Eagles shut that down via an impressive fourth-quarter drive that began with 8:39 left in regulation and ate up 8:14 of that time. It prominently featured both running backs, especially Sanders (42 yards rushing, 31 receiving), and produced another Elliott field goal to put the game away.
“We’re confident in our offense as a whole,” Howard said. “Whatever it takes to get a win, by any means we’re going to do that. If we have to run a lot, if we have to pass a lot, or if we have to have a mixture, that’s what we’re going to do. I feel we’re getting in a pretty good groove with the running game. The line has been doing a great job all season, but they’ve been taking it to another level, dominating guys, bullying guys, pushing them out of the way and stuff.
“That makes it easy me.” for