Howard helps Chicago Bears run right over Vikings

Almost every key indicator seemed to portend the Chicago Bears would not have much success running the ball Monday night at Soldier Field.

They were without both of their three-time Pro Bowl guards - Kyle Long and Josh Sitton. And they were facing a Minnesota Vikings defense that was No. 3 in the NFL in rushing yards and average gain per rush allowed, and No. 1 in total yards and points allowed.

Rookie Jordan Howard, by far the Bears' leading rusher, was coming off his two worst games, with a combined 56 yards on 22 carries (2.5-yard average) in losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers.

But the indicators were wrong. The ground game was instrumental in the Bears' 20-10 upset victory.

Howard had the best game of his short career, rushing for 153 yards on 26 carries, a 5.9-yard average. He also scored his third touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run midway through the second quarter that gave the Bears a 13-0 lead.

He added 4 catches for 49 yards.

As a team, the Bears rushed for 158 yards, 33 more than their previous best, often running behind backup guards Eric Kush on the left and Ted Larsen on the right.

The 6-foot-4, 313-pound Kush is in his third season, but he had started just one game before filling in for Sitton a week earlier against the Packers.

The 6-2, 315-pound Larsen is a seven-year veteran with 57 starts, including 26 for the Arizona Cardinals in the previous two seasons.

"Both of them performed pretty well to step in," coach John Fox said. "You miss guys like Kyle and Josh for obvious reasons. But it's a team game. It's 11 guys doing the right thing at the right time.

"We did that probably more consistently (Monday night), even with some backup guys in there. It's a testament to them, their coaches and their preparation."

Howard seized the momentum early with a 69-yard burst on the Bears' third play from scrimmage.

Then late in the game he helped snuff out any comeback hopes Minnesota was harboring.

The Vikings knew the Bears would run the ball to eat up the little remaining time. Yet Howard pounded them into submission, running the ball on eight of the Bears' final nine plays for 37 yards, taking more than five minutes off the clock.

"They just gave up," Howard said. "They weren't even trying to tackle anymore; they were just going for the ball. It didn't seem like they wanted to tackle. We just took the life out of them on that drive.

"It's great knowing that once you get those first downs and wear the defense down, you can get (control of) the game, and they don't have a chance to come back."

Howard made his own personal comeback after two subpar games leading up to Minnesota. Teammate Ka'Deem Carey outrushed him in Weeks 6-7 after Howard had put together back-to-back 100-yard games in his two previous games.

"I learned life in the NFL is very unpredictable," he said of the four-week, roller-coaster ride. "You can have a good week and then go to a bad week and bounce back to a good week. You never know what's going to happen. You just gotta play each game the same.

"Coach told me that I was going to be starting and that this is my type of game, and he told me to attack it. I rolled with it."

And he rolled over the Vikings' No. 1 defense.

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