Howard has a winning way about him

Microphones darted toward his face and TV camera lights glowed, as soon as he spun to face reporters by his locker stall. Fans, still cheering, exited a stadium.

It wasn't the first time an athlete named Jordan excited Chicago.

It just had been an awfully long time.

And it had been seemingly just as long since the Bears won a football game on their home field.

Sunday at Soldier Field, Jordan ruled.

In his first NFL start, rookie running back Jordan Howard was a slam dunk, rushing for 111 yards on 23 (nice coincidence) carries, as the previously winless Chicago Bears defeated the Lions 17-14.

"He can run that rock, can't he?" a smiling Akiem Hicks said as he walked by his teammate's stall following the Bears' first home win in almost a year to the date (last Oct. 4 vs. Oakland).

Not a bad performance for a guy who lasted until the fifth round of this year's draft. A total of 149 players, including nine running backs, were selected ahead of Howard, who rushed for 1,213 yards in his lone season for Indiana last year, after two years at Alabama-Birmingham.

"It's definitely surreal, but I don't feel like the moment's too big for me," Howard said. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity that God blessed me with and the Bears for choosing me and giving me the opportunity to play."

Jeremy Langford's ankle injury last Sunday night at Dallas paved the way for Howard, who also was behind Ka'Deem Carey on the depth chart at the start of the season.

Teammate Kyle Long wasn't surprised by what Howard did Sunday, especially considering how "attentive" and "pro-active" the soft-spoken Howard is in meetings.

"We initially saw it against our (No.) 1 defense," Long said. "And although we have a really good defense, Jordan keeps it competitive and runs hard. He's a tough kid."

Howard was active for the Bears' season opener at Houston but didn't have any carries. He opened eyes last Sunday at Dallas with a 36-yard burst.

Never, not even as he waited to be drafted, did he lose confidence.

"(Going into the draft), I knew that I might not be the fastest, but I could get the job done," Howard said. "I've always believed in myself. If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will."

When the Bears drafted the 6-foot, 222-pounder, head coach John Fox knew only that his team had gotten a big back.

"The thing we didn't know is the quickness of his feet and the vision he has," Fox said after Howard became the first Bears rookie to rush for 100 yards in a game since Kahlil Bell in 2011. "I think he's outstanding, and we will ride him pretty good moving forward."

Signed by the Bears this week with both Langford and Carey (hamstring) out, ex-Lions running back Joique Bell had 3 carries for 6 yards against his former team, but his contributions off the field were greater.

"Joique was helping me out, giving me tips about (the Lions)," said Howard, who had 67 rushing yards on 12 carries coming into the game. "We knew we had a good game plan."

Like he did at IU, Howard routinely broke tackles and made defenders miss. He also caught 3 passes for 21 yards. All but 3 of his carries yielded positive yards.

"You earn a lot of respect from the older guys when you go out there and run the ball hard as a rookie," quarterback Brian Hoyer said. "He popped a few good ones, and he had some ones where he got some tough yardage."

Neither Langford nor Carey figures to be back for next Sunday's game at Indianapolis. But even if it's a no-brainer that Howard will start again, he isn't taking anything for granted.

"You got to stay humble because anything can change any minute," he said. "You can get hurt. You can just have a bad game."

In Chicago, bad games are not a Jordan thing.