LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Just two days after being promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, Kahlil Bell made history—not to mention a strong first impression—in Sunday night’s loss to the Eagles.

Giving starter Matt Forte a rest early in the second quarter, the Bears rookie running back dashed 72 yards on his first NFL carry. Bell burst through a hole up the middle, cut down the left sideline and picked up a block from receiver Johnny Knox before being forced out of bounds at the Philadelphia 10.

Rookie Kahlil Bell races 72 yards on his first NFL carry in Sunday night's loss.

“It just pretty much opened up,” Bell said. “The offensive line did a great job of clearing the guys out of the way. I didn’t really have to do much except just find a hole, and when they make holes like that, anybody can look good. I never thought my first NFL carry would be like that. If I had scored, it would have been a little better—I’m not the fastest guy in the world—but it was exciting.”

Bell’s 72-yard run was the longest on the first carry of an NFL player’s career since Alan Ameche’s 79-yarder for the Baltimore Colts in 1955.

Asked after the game whether he knew that factoid, Bell said: “I did not. You guys have all the stats. You make me feel a little bit better now that I know that, but stats are stats. At the end of the day, you just want to win games. It was exciting to get out there and perform. But at the same time, it would have been nice to walk away with a ‘W.’”

Bell’s 72-yard run was also the longest by a Bears player since Neal Anderson’s 73-yarder on Dec. 17, 1989 against the Green Bay Packers and the longest in a Bears rookie debut, topping Forte’s 50-yarder in last year’s season opener in Indianapolis.

“He obviously did a good job,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “His first carry wasn’t bad. That was the plan coming in; get him in a little bit and see what he could do. We like what he’s done in practice, and we also needed to spell Matt a little bit; take some of the carries away from him and see what Kahlil could do, and he responded well.”

Bell was added to the active roster in place of running back Garrett Wolfe, who was put on injured reserve with a lacerated kidney. In four seasons at UCLA, the 5-11, 212-pounder rushed for 1,741 yards and 17 touchdowns on 395 carries and caught 29 passes for 196 yards and 1 TD in 35 games.

“Kahlil has played good ball,” said coach Lovie Smith. “I’m talking about practicing. We’ve seen him every week. We thought he was a good football player. The plan was to get him in early and see what he can do. It was a good start for him. I liked what I saw from him his first time out.”

Bell entered the NFL this year as an undrafted free agent with the Vikings. He was signed to the Bears practice squad Sept. 16 after being waived/injured by Minnesota on Aug. 16.

“I’ve been working as hard as I can in practice, and for the coaches to take notice and give me a shot there and try to take advantage of my opportunity, it was just a blessing,” Bell said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t win the game. But it was exciting to fulfill my lifelong dream of getting a chance to play at this level.”