After rookie fifth-round pick Jordan Howard had firmly taken hold of the Chicago Bears’ starting running back spot, all signs pointed to the Indiana-product leading the way on the ground for his team against the Green Bay Packers on a short week of preparation.

Instead, Ka’Deem Carey out-produced him, carrying the ball 10 times for 48 yards compared to Howards’ 22 yards on seven attempts.

The third-year running back had previously been limited to backup duties as he continues to battle a hamstring injury that kept him out of two games earlier this season, but Carey stood out in prime-time as a legitimate threat in this backfield.

His offensive line didn’t do him many favors, but Carey was still able to pick up decent chunks of yardage in spite of their inconsistency.

He showed the acceleration to burst past defensive tackle Letroy Guion, who beat left guard Eric Kush to the inside, before bouncing off of right tackle Bobby Massie’s poor second-level block and dragging linebacker Jake Ryan for a few extra yards.

Carey showed great quickness, decisiveness and toughness to pick up nine yards on this run where there were seemingly few yards to be found.

His vision on zone runs was also evident. Carey clearly saw the lane opening and took the perfect angle so he didn’t have to slow down or adjust his path at all, allowing himself to outrun rookie linebacker Blake Martinez at the second-level.

Even as right guard Ted Larsen is driven into the backfield and Massie nearly loses his block around the outside, Carey saw it all unfold and attacked the hole before it closed behind him, getting to the sideline for the longest run of his career.

Carey showed an impressive ability to see how a play was going to develop before it actually happened.

He read Kush’s double-team on defensive lineman Mike Daniels and knew he would peel off to Ryan, and with center Cody Whitehair losing inside to Guion, Carey knew he had to attack the B-gap and power ahead for some hard-fought yards.

On this second-down run, Daniels and Ryan made contact with Carey after just three yards, but the 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back kept his feet moving and picked up five more yards after contact to make sure his team got the first down it needed.

Whether it be man blocking (first play), outside zone (second play) or inside zone (third play), Carey used his combination of physical and mental tools to move the chains and give his two quarterbacks in the game the ground threat they needed.

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains still only handed it off 17 times with his second and third-string quarterbacks in the game, but Bears fans can be confident they have two quality young running backs for their offense moving forward.