When the Bears made the decision to move on from veteran running back Matt Forte last February, they did so in part because of the confidence they had in young running backs Jeremy Langford and Ka'Deem Carey.

General manager Ryan Pace also selected running back Jordan Howard in the 5th round of May's NFL Draft, and seven months later it's he who looks like the true long-term replacement for Forte, the Bears' second all-time leading rusher.

With the 135 yards Howard ran for in Sunday's regular-season finale loss to the Vikings, the Indiana product broke Matt Forte's franchise single-season rookie rushing record, set back in 2008.

And Forte, ever the professional, congratulated Howard via his Instagram account on Tuesday.

Howard's 1,313 rushing yards topped Forte's 1,238, and Howard accomplished the feat while playing in just 15 games and not being featured as the lead back until October.

Howard finished the regular season second in the league in rushing, behind fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliot.