If there’s one upside to having a small workload, Jordan Howard has definitely found it.
His body feels fresh.
“I’m definitely feeling great,” Howard said. “Not as sore after the games and stuff like that. It’s easier to get out there and run at practice.”
If Howard is upset about the limited workload he’s had in the first two games of the 2019 season, he certainly isn’t showing it. Speaking at his locker on Friday, Howard was all about the team. Instead of talking about his carries or snaps, Howard simply talked about the need for the offense, as a whole, to perform better.
But through two games, Howard has just 14 carries. It’s the fewest amount of carries he’s had in a two-week span since his first two NFL games back in his rookie year in 2016.
Last season with the Bears, he had single digit carries just once. He’s done that twice in two games to start 2019.
“I didn’t really have any projection of how I was going to be used,” Howard said. “I just know whenever my opportunity comes, I just try to take advantage of my opportunities.”
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While head coach Doug Pederson has expressed faith in rookie Miles Sanders, the Eagles do have the third-leading rusher in the NFL since 2016 waiting for his opportunity to get a bigger piece of the offensive pie.
“We brought him here for a reason,” Pederson said. “Long season. We're just kind of getting off the ground, so we should hopefully see more of him.”
Here’s the running back breakdown so far:
Overall, the Eagles’ rushing attack hasn’t been good enough. Their backs have a combined 162 rushing yards; eight backs league-wide have more than that.
And as a team, the Eagles are averaging just 86.0 yards per game. But it’s early.
“I feel like we’re pretty close,” Howard said. “A few little things here and there. But I feel like we’re definitely going to get it going. And when it’s going, it’s going to be hard to stop.”
It’s obviously early, but Howard has looked decent in the limited chances he’s gotten. His average of 4.4 yards per carry is higher than he had in his last two seasons.
Howard said he isn’t sure what the rotation will look like going forward, but thinks that once they find something that works, the Eagles will stick with it.
“When his time is called, you kind of see what he can do,” Sproles said. “They’re gonna work him in there a little bit more, though.”
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