X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Disaster Recovery Week 4: Jordan Howard's Sour Day

Jordan Howard is grasping for life in the Bear's backfield. Will he even have control of the Bear's time-share this season? Steve Rebeiro examines.

Welcome to Disaster Recovery, where each week I'll examine why your studs played like duds.

This isn't a place to find out why you should have benched a player for somebody on your bench. Disaster Recovery is to examine the guys who you didn't think twice about benching, and deciding if you should be panicking at all about their value moving forward.

This season we'll be covering one dud per week. There will be two major qualifiers: the player must have performed well below expectations without an injury, and the player must be considered a must-start in most formats.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Rankings System

I'll also be implementing a new panic meter ranking system this year. It goes as follows:

  1. This week was a fluke. Don't panic!
  2. I still have full faith in this player, but there are some red flags. Be cautiously optimistic moving forward.
  3. There are genuine concerns here. Consider selling on name value, but don't panic too much unless you receive an offer you can't refuse.
  4. This player will not be the player you expected him to be. Regardless, his value may be too low to trade, and his ceiling is going to be better than anything you can get in return. Panic, but hold tight.
  5. Absolutely abandon ship. We're not coming back from this.

 
Week 4 had a large amount of duds considering how many players blew up the stat sheet. I almost wrote about Michael Thomas, but I thought we could do better than a one on the ranking system. Instead, let's talk about Jordan Howard.

 

Crying Jordan

Jordan Howard's Week 4 stats: 11 carries for 25 yards, along with one target and no receptions.

Lost in the shuffle?

The Bears absolutely decimated the Buccaneers on Sunday and ended Fitzmagic in the process. Mitch Trubisky threw a career-high six touchdowns, and it seemed like everyone got involved in the fun. Five different Bears caught Trubisky touchdowns. Newcomers Taylor Gabriel, Allen Robinson, and Trey Burton finally had their chance to shine. Most significantly, Bears running back Tarik Cohen totaled 174 yards on the afternoon and also found the end zone.

Two different Bears ran for over 50 yards Sunday: Cohen and Trubisky.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. The Bears were up 38-3 at halftime, they probably just wanted to give Howard time to rest up in the second half. Nope! Howard received eight of his eleven touches in the second half, and scoured 20 of his measly 25 yards in that half as well. Howard was available the whole game, and this is what we got.

Time-shares in the Midwest

After Week 1 of last season, I thought the Bears backfield would surely enter a time-share. Looks like I was simply a year early. The Bears have no reason to use Howard as the every-down back at this point. Howard is averaging just 3.2 yards per rush this this year, almost a full two yards less than Cohen. He's a much less effective pass-catching back. He's not going to be the three-down back people were hyping up this preseason.

Here's the scariest part about Howard right now: he might not even be the majority stakeholder in this timeshare. Cohen out-carried Howard 13 to 11 on Sunday, and overall out-touched him 20 to 11. While the majority of Howard's carries came in the second half, every single one of Cohen's carries came in the first half. Howard dominated touches when the gameflow called for a more conservative style of play. The aggressive air-it-out gameplan clearly benefited Cohen's style of play more, but it's still telling that Cohen was also the one receiving the bulk of the carries in the first half.

 

A Blessing in Disguise?

Look, it cannot get any worse for Howard than it did last week. That's not to say that it will get much better, but there are silver-linings we can point to that make me believe it might. 

Mitchell's Official

To put it kindly, the Bears passing game over the first three games was not good. Trubisky gave defenses no reason to worry about the passing attack. That all changed in Week 4, when Trubisky played the best game of his career and one of the best we've seen by a quarterback this season.

Now look, we have to acknowledge that it was against Tampa Bay, a defense that has been getting torched week after week. But even against a bad defense, six touchdown passes is nothing to scoff at. Defenses have to respect Trubisky and the passing attack more after this week. As we saw with Todd Gurley between 2016 and 2017, a respectable passing attack can do wonders for a running back. Holes may begin to open up for Howard.

There's also the bleak alternative. Maybe the Bears realized that this is the type of offense that works for them, and that Cohen is the better fit for that style of play. This type of offense probably isn't sustainable, especially when Tampa Bay isn't on the other side of the ball, but it's a question the coaching staff will have to examine during the bye week. The answer is probably somewhere in between.

Nearing the End Zone

Jordan Howard is still the clear goal-line back, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon. Howard has received all three of Chicago's carries inside the 10. He converted on one of them last week.

Howard received the Bear's only red zone carry this week. On the one yard line, Howard attempted to punch one in and salvage the Bears day. He lost two yards, and Trubisky connected with Taylor Gabriel for a touchdown on the next play.

Make no mistakes that Howard will get the goal line carries for the Bears moving forward. But should he? Should the Bears even run the ball inside the five anymore? Are these silver-linings I'm talking about actually silver-linings? This is getting hard to talk about.

Panic Meter: 4.5/5

I came really close to going a five here, but I don't think Howard is in a situation where you should trade him for whatever you can get back. I'd absolutely try to sell him based on the value his name carries. But if you can't get anything back that you'd feel good about, stay aboard the ship. I truly believe that Trubisky's barrage on Sunday will benefit the running game.

Quarterbacks need to earn respect before defenses respect them. This was the first time Trubisky has earned any of that respect. Maybe it will open things up for Howard. His back-to-back 1,100 yard seasons to start his career couldn't have been a complete fluke, right? ...right?

The unfortunate truth is that he's clearly not going to be this years Todd Gurley, as many had hoped for. But something might be left in there. If the Bears can re-work the rushing attack knowing they have a passing game backing it up, I still believe Howard can produce as an RB2, albeit a lower-end one. We'll have to wait until the Bears return from their bye week to find out.

What To Watch For

Any signs of life from Jordan Howard in the running game. The Bears won't be back on the field until Week 6. Whatever is going on with Howard, either he or the Bears need to figure it out. The clock is ticking on Howard's hold on the starting job. If he can't produce anything against the Dolphins in Week 6, it'll be Cohen's job.

Hell, it may already be Cohen's job by that point. Keep an eye on how Cohen and Howard split carries and snaps.

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Eugenio Suárez2 hours ago

Eugenio Suarez Hits Go-Ahead Grand Slam Tuesday
A.J. Puk2 hours ago

Earns First Save Of Season Tuesday
Michael King2 hours ago

Fans 11 In Five Shutout Innings Tuesday
Christian Yelich2 hours ago

Hits First Homer Of Season, Steals Base Tuesday
Evan Engram2 hours ago

Sean Payton Excited About Evan Engram In Joker Role
Anthony Bender2 hours ago

Earns First Save Of Season Tuesday
Robert Hassell III2 hours ago

Has Three-Hit Day At Triple-A
Thomas Harrington2 hours ago

Hit Hard In MLB Debut Tuesday
Gunnar Henderson2 hours ago

Hits Solo Homer In Triple-A Rehab Game Tuesday
Marcelo Mayer3 hours ago

Hits First Home Run At Triple-A
Caleb Williams3 hours ago

To Spend More Time Working Under Center
Tom Hoge3 hours ago

Looking To Build Off Strong Performance At The PLAYERS Championship
Zebby Matthews3 hours ago

Twirls Five Shutout Innings At Triple-A
Daniel Jones3 hours ago

Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones To Split First-Team Reps This Offseason
Terry McLaurin3 hours ago

Commanders Interested In Extending Terry McLaurin
Rashee Rice3 hours ago

Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp
Hurston Waldrep3 hours ago

Fans Seven In Win At Triple-A
Garrett Wilson3 hours ago

Jets Plan To Get Garrett Wilson The Ball "As Much As Possible"
Keaton Mitchell4 hours ago

Ravens Have High Hopes For Keaton Mitchell
Angel Genao4 hours ago

Dealing With Shoulder Injury
Derrick Henry4 hours ago

John Harbaugh Wants Ravens To Extend Derrick Henry
Christian McCaffrey4 hours ago

Is Healthy
Clarke Schmidt4 hours ago

To Return April 15 Or 16
Shane Baz5 hours ago

Strikes Out 10
Mike Tauchman5 hours ago

Begins Rehab Assignment
Wyatt Langford5 hours ago

Launches Another Homer
Nathan Eovaldi5 hours ago

Throws Complete Game Shutout
Michael Petersen5 hours ago

Traded To Atlanta
Matt Fitzpatrick5 hours ago

Looking For Consistency At Valero Texas Open
Corey Conners6 hours ago

Continues Strong Form Ahead Of Valero Texas Open
Patrick Cantlay6 hours ago

Eyeing Victory At Valero Texas Open
Reynaldo López6 hours ago

Reynaldo Lopez To Undergo Right-Shoulder Surgery
Gary Woodland6 hours ago

Showing Great Form Ahead Of Valero Texas Open
Akshay Bhatia6 hours ago

Aiming For Repeat At Valero Texas Open
Alejandro Tosti6 hours ago

A Volatile Choice At TPC San Antonio
NFL6 hours ago

Tush Push Unlikely To Be Banned For 2025 Season
Xavier Legette7 hours ago

Dave Canales Compares Xavier Legette To DK Metcalf
Brett de Geus7 hours ago

Phillies Claim Brett de Geus Off Waivers From Marlins
New York Giants7 hours ago

Ty Summers Re-Signs With New York
Nick Mears7 hours ago

Beginning Rehab Assignment At Triple-A
Sam Ehlinger7 hours ago

Signs One-Year Deal With Denver
Guerschon Yabusele7 hours ago

Out Against Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns7 hours ago

Sits Out Tuesday's Game
Arizona Cardinals7 hours ago

Calais Campbell Returns To Arizona
Jevon Carter7 hours ago

Ruled Out Tuesday
Dalen Terry8 hours ago

Unavailable Against Raptors
Julian Phillips8 hours ago

Out On Tuesday
Jalen Smith8 hours ago

Available Against Raptors
Lonzo Ball8 hours ago

Still Out On Tuesday
Kevin Huerter8 hours ago

Cleared For Tuesday's Matchup
Josh Giddey8 hours ago

Will Play On Tuesday
Dalano Banton8 hours ago

Starting Against The Hawks
Royce O'Neale8 hours ago

Unavailable Against Bucks
Jerami Grant8 hours ago

Out Again On Tuesday
Bradley Beal8 hours ago

Out On Tuesday
Ron Holland II8 hours ago

Tagged With A One-Game Suspension Tuesday
Anfernee Simons8 hours ago

Ruled Out Versus The Hawks
Trae Young8 hours ago

Officially Available Tuesday
Marcus Sasser8 hours ago

Suspended For One Game On Tuesday
Giannis Antetokounmpo9 hours ago

Will Play On Tuesday
Jimmy Snuggerud9 hours ago

Ready For NHL Debut Tuesday
Isaiah Stewart9 hours ago

Suspended For Two Games On Tuesday
Jacob Trouba9 hours ago

Set To Rejoin Ducks Lineup Tuesday
Jonathan Kuminga9 hours ago

Ruled Out On Tuesday
Troy Terry9 hours ago

On Track To Play Tuesday
Jaylen Brown9 hours ago

Questionable Versus Miami
Jonathan Marchessault9 hours ago

Remains Out Against Blue Jackets
Alex Laferriere9 hours ago

Expected To Return On Tuesday
Luke Schenn9 hours ago

A Game-Time Decision Tuesday
Dante Fabbro9 hours ago

Returns Against Predators
Detroit Lions11 hours ago

Alim McNeill Could Miss Start Of Regular Season
Tennessee Titans12 hours ago

Justin Hardee Sr. Returning To Titans
Washington Commanders12 hours ago

Brandon Coleman Moving To Right Tackle For Commanders
Raheem Blackshear12 hours ago

Returning To Carolina
Kirk Cousins12 hours ago

Not Expected To Attend Voluntary Offseason Training
NFL12 hours ago

NFL Ownership Votes To Move Kickoff Touchbacks To 35-Yard Line
Olli Määttä12 hours ago

Olli Maatta A Game-Time Call On Tuesday
Jordan Greenway13 hours ago

Remains Sidelined On Tuesday
Dallas Cowboys13 hours ago

Cowboys Willing To Make Micah Parsons The Highest-Paid Non-QB
Jordan Staal13 hours ago

Doubtful For Wednesday
Matt Roy13 hours ago

Not Traveling With Team
Josh Norris13 hours ago

Not Traveling With The Team On Tuesday
Brady Tkachuk13 hours ago

Not Playing On Tuesday
Jordan Spieth15 hours ago

Needs To Find Consistency At TPC San Antonio
Jake Knapp15 hours ago

Making First Appearance At Valero Texas Open
Michael Kim15 hours ago

Looking To Find The Magic Again In San Antonio
Tommy Fleetwood15 hours ago

Is Nearly A Must-Play At Valero Texas Open
Tony Finau16 hours ago

Hoping For Better Approach Play In San Antonio
Eric Cole16 hours ago

Trending In Right Direction Ahead Of Valero
Casey DeSmith19 hours ago

Sharp In Monday's Victory
Mason Marchment19 hours ago

Tallies Two Helpers On Monday
Adam Klapka20 hours ago

Tallies Two Points In Shootout Victory
Ivan Fedotov20 hours ago

Sharp Against Nashville
Matvei Michkov20 hours ago

Continues Hot Stretch On Monday
Luke Hughes20 hours ago

Scores Goal, Adds Assist In Victory
Sam Stevens1 day ago

Enjoys Nice Result In Houston
PGA1 day ago

J.T. Poston Seeks To Contend At Valero Texas Open
Denny McCarthy1 day ago

Keeps Making Cuts But Needs To Make More Putts
Brian Harman1 day ago

Off To A Subpar 2025 So Far
Ilya Samsonov1 day ago

Nursing An Upper-Body Injury
Tomas Hertl1 day ago

To Sit Out At Least One More Week
Ryan Preece1 day ago

Has Three Straight Top-10 Finishes For First Time In His Career
NASCAR1 day ago

Bubba Wallace After Third-Place Finish At Martinsville: "What a Great Day"
Todd Gilliland1 day ago

Has Mistake-Free Day At Martinsville, Grabs Another Top-10 Finish
Brandon Moreno1 day ago

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Steve Erceg1 day ago

Losses Third Consecutive Fight
Drew Dober1 day ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC Mexico City
Manuel Torres1 day ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Harry Hall1 day ago

Bounces Back In Houston Last Week
CJ Vergara1 day ago

Gets Submitted
Ryan Fox1 day ago

Showing Improvement Heading Into The Valero Texas Open
Édgar Cháirez1 day ago

Edgar Chairez Gets Submission Win At UFC Mexico City
Vince Morales1 day ago

Drops Decision At UFC Mexico City
Raul Rosas Jr.1 day ago

Gets Decision Win At UFC Mexico City
Saimon Oliveira1 day ago

Still Winless In The UFC
David Martinez1 day ago

Wins His UFC Debut
Kevin Borjas1 day ago

Earns His First UFC Win
Ronaldo Rodríguez1 day ago

Ronaldo Rodriguez Suffers His First UFC Loss
Joel Dahmen1 day ago

Scores Top-20 Finish At Texas Children's Houston Open
Jacob Bridgeman1 day ago

Had Some Rest Heading Into The Valero
Christopher Bell2 days ago

Powers His Way To A Second-Place Finish At Martinsville
Chase Elliott2 days ago

Strong Martinsville Performance Ends With A Top-Five Finish
Kyle Larson2 days ago

Collects A Top-Five Finish At Martinsville
William Byron2 days ago

Places 22nd After Struggles At Martinsville
Joey Logano2 days ago

Claims His First 2025 Top-10 Finish After Up-And-Down Performance
Tyler Reddick2 days ago

Fails To Place In The Top 10 At Martinsville
Denny Hamlin2 days ago

Silences Doubters After Crew-Chief Change
Ty Gibbs2 days ago

Earns Best 2025 Finish At Martinsville Despite Failing Cool Suit
Ross Chastain2 days ago

Has A Great Day At Martinsville
Chase Briscoe2 days ago

Has Solid Run At Martinsville
Erik Jones2 days ago

Disqualified At Martinsville For Weight Violation
Josh Berry3 days ago

Has Top-10 Upside At Martinsville
Joey Logano3 days ago

Don't Overlook Joey Logano This Weekend
Ryan Preece3 days ago

Could Get First Three-Race Top-10 Streak Of His Career
Chase Elliott3 days ago

Looking To Continue Great Runs At Martinsville
Christopher Bell3 days ago

Wins Pole At Martinsville, But Can He Stay Up There?
Ryan Blaney3 days ago

Fast In Practice But Skeptical About Car
Denny Hamlin3 days ago

New Crew Chief Has Terrible Martinsville Record
Steve Erceg5 days ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Brandon Moreno5 days ago

A Favorite At UFC Mexico City
Manuel Torres5 days ago

Set For Co-Main Event
Drew Dober5 days ago

An Underdog At UFC Mexico City
Joe Pyfer5 days ago

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Kelvin Gastelum5 days ago

Set For Middleweight Matchup
Vince Morales5 days ago

In Dire Need Of Victory
Raul Rosas Jr.5 days ago

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Saimon Oliveira5 days ago

Looks For His First UFC Win
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Tyreek Hill - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Three Aging Fantasy Football Players To Sell In Dynasty Leagues

It's hard to always know when to sell off your aging fantasy football players. Often, it's also difficult to accept that it's better to move on from a player when he's coming off a productive season and still has a lot left in the tank. But I believe it's better to be a year early […]


J.J. McCarthy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Draft Sleepers

Five Fantasy Football Superflex Quarterback Breakouts, Draft Targets (2025)

If you’ve ever played in a Superflex fantasy football league, then you know how important quarterbacks are in this format. The ability to start multiple stud quarterbacks can carry you to a Superflex title. Unfortunately, finding two such players isn’t so easy. All the top signal-callers come off draft boards first, and that makes it […]


Omarion Hampton - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks - NFL Draft

Ideal Landing Spots For The Top 12 Fantasy Football Rookies - 2025 NFL Draft

Then, the NFL Draft continues to inch closer and closer. This is a very interesting class, with a handful of players who could be stars in the NFL and reshape fantasy football leagues going forward. Here are the ideal landing spots for the top 12 fantasy football rookies. These picks exist in conversation with each […]


Jalen Coker - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Eight Best Ball Late Round Value Fantasy Football Players To Target For 2025

Fantasy football is the most popular game in all of sports. It has gone from a paper-and-pen game to a multi-million dollar-a-year one. While redraft leagues are the most popular form of fantasy football, best ball leagues are quickly gaining steam. The best part of best ball leagues is the ability to draft thousands of […]


Abdul Carter - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 NFL Draft Rankings: Top 10 Fantasy Football Edge Rusher Prospects

Edge rusher is the most important, most coveted, and most highly-paid position on defense in the NFL. It stands to reason that the most important position in the entire game being quarterback, and by a wide margin, means the most important position on defense are the players that are tasked with disrupting opposing QBs as […]


Brock Purdy - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Picks

Brock Purdy Dynasty Fantasy Football Outlook and Trade Value

Despite becoming the all-time leading passer for the Iowa State Cyclones, Brock Purdy wasn't a highly touted prospect due to his perceived lack of athleticism. The 49ers picked him with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, but Mr. Irrelevant quickly proved everyone wrong. In his first two years, he started in back-to-back NFC […]


Michael Florio's Football Show - Podcast RotoBaller Network

Florio's Football Show: Scouting NFL Draft Prospects!

Michael F Florio goes over some of the top prospects from this years NFL Draft. Florio talks about what he looks for when watching prospect tape and explains what traits translate best to the NFL level. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (SiriusXM channel 87) on Sundays from 6-7 am. You can […]


Najee Harris - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Dynasty Fantasy Football Buy or Sell: Najee Harris, Rico Dowdle, Jordan Mason

One year ago, we discussed the futures of Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Aaron Jones as those free agents found new homes. This year's headliners are Najee Harris, Rico Dowdle, and Jordan Mason. Not quite the same. Still, with every transaction come implications for dynasty fantasy football rosters across the globe. Below, we […]


Romeo Doubs - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Early 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Undervalued NFC Draft Targets

While the 2025 fantasy football redraft season is still several months away, there is no such thing as being too prepared for your fantasy draft. Fantasy football is year-round, even for those who only play in redraft leagues. The landscape of fantasy football will change between today and the start of redraft season, with the […]


Detroit Lions Defense, Aidan Hutchinson - Fantasy Football DST Rankings, Streamers, IDP Sleepers

2025 Fantasy Football IDP Sleepers: Five Draft Targets

It's notably difficult to identify sleepers in fantasy football IDP leagues. The skill of the players in question is very important, but situation also plays a large factor, as does a recent history of injuries. Rather than bucketing them into groups, it's better to analyze each one individually, look at where they are in terms […]


Ashton Jeanty - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

Ashton Jeanty's Top Potential Landing Spots For 2025: Fantasy Football NFL Draft Outlook

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty will enter the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the best prospects in the class. Jeanty just ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns across 14 games this past college season. Those 2,601 rush yards were the second-most of all-time in FBS history, only behind Barry Sanders's 2,628 rush yards […]


Bhaysul Tuten - NFL Draft Prospects, Rookie Rankings

2025 Fantasy Football Rookie Mock Draft: 12-Team, Single QB

The 2025 NFL Combine has now been completed, so it's worth doing another mock draft to see where everyone stands after the league's pre-draft testing event. Overall, there were a few surprises, but the order of many players will remain the same. The mental domain of the original rankings, which have been fairly set in […]


Rashid Shaheed - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Later-Career Breakout Candidates

Typically, most NFL players break out in the early parts of their careers. Between the ages of 20 and 25 is when you expect to see the majority of players have their first big season. Some waste no time and put together excellent years while they're rookies, while some need more time to develop. These […]