The Bears, a winless team dealing with myriad injuries, got dealt another blow during their Sunday night loss to the Cowboys. Starting running back Jeremy Langford, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, will miss four to six weeks with what coach John Fox called a sprained ankle.

But that might not be a bad thing for the Bears, because -- finally -- they'll be forced to play the best back on their roster. Though he has hardly played in his three-game career, rookie Jordan Howard appears to have an actual shot at supplanting Langford and replacing long-time Bears back Matt Forte, who departed for the Jets in free agency this spring.

That's due to a combination of factors. The first is Langford's ineffectiveness before suffering that sprained ankle and the second is how effective Howard has looked when given a chance.

Let's start with Langford, the Bears' fourth-round pick a year ago. Though most fans came away impressed with his rookie season, when he filled in for an injured Forte, his numbers weren't in any way gaudy. As I wrote when the Bears threw an offer at Broncos running back C.J. Anderson this offseason, Langford just wasn't any good a year ago:

He wasn't productive. Langford not only averaged just 3.6 yards per carry last season, but he also averaged a league-worst 2.7 yards per carry against base defenses, according to Pro Football Focus.

He dealt with a case of the drops. Per Fox Sports' tracker, Langford dropped seven passes, despite being targeted just 42 times. Those drops sometimes came in crucial situations.

Langford hasn't flashed improvement so far in his second season. After the first three games, he leads the team in carries with 31, yet he has gained only 116 yards off those carries, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. It's true that the Bears' offensive line has struggled and deserves some of the blame for Langford's struggles, but it's also true that Langford himself hasn't done much of anything to secure the starting role.

Howard has, at least, flashed potential. A fifth-round pick this year, Howard has just 12 carries through the first three games, but he's averaging 5.6 yards per clip. He's also outperforming Langford in the passing game, catching six passes for 56 yards compared to Langford's five receptions for 27 yards.

If statistics aren't your thing, the eye test also confirms Howard's potential. He looks more athletic, hits the hole hard and he's difficult to bring down. Consider that Howard is averaging 2.8 yards after contact, which is a full yard better than Langford's average a year ago, according to Pro Football Focus.

This shouldn't come as a surprise. When the Bears drafted Howard, it's the first thing that came to mind.


It's incredibly early in both players' careers, so this isn't intended to anoint Howard as the Bears' savior or Langford as a disappointment. But the point is, the Langford injury will finally force the Bears to give Howard the reps he deserves. And in an already lost season, that's incredibly important, because it gives the Bears some valuable time to evaluate Howard's long-term value to a team that lacks players with long-term value.

With that being said, the Bears signed ex-Lions running back Joique Bell on Tuesday, according to Rand Getlin, which makes sense considering Ka'Deem Carey is also dealing with an injury. So, don't expect Howard to rack up 25 carries this weekend. But even 15 carries might be enough for Howard to separate himself from the rest of the Bears' backfield.