Willock has endured a frustrating couple of seasons disrupted by injury setbacks and his selection against Spurs in the Carabao Cup fourth round was just his second start of the campaign.
But the midfielder staked a claim for more minutes with a fine display, which included the delivery of the cross that led to Nick Woltemade's crucial goal as the Magpies doubled their lead and set up a last eight clash with Fulham.
Willock will almost certainly drop back to the bench for Sunday's trip to West Ham, with the rested Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton expected to return to the side. And the 26-year-old also has Jacob Ramsey and Lewis Miley for competition for a place in the middle of the park.
But he did his chances no harm with his performance against Tottenham, which given his Arsenal links is a win the midfielder will have particularly enjoyed.
"I'm really pleased for Joe," said Howe.
"We all have very short memories in football. Everything happens so quickly you forget sometimes how good players can be.
"Certainly not from our perspective. We know what a good player he is when he's at his best. The biggest problem he's had really is his body in recent times, but today I thought he looked very, very good.
"He covered a lot of ground. He was excellent tactically. I played him in a slightly different way but he didn't let us down, he was very good. I'm delighted with the assist. He could have scored as well, but it's a good night and a reminder of how good he can be."
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It turned into an ideal night for Howe and it highlighted the depth in the squad after the head coach made eight changes.
He said: "I thought the team was strong enough to win the game, and then you add the firepower from the bench and you know if the game is not going the way you want you can possibly turn to the bench and it can help you in that way.
"I think it puts us in a good place but I'm very calm at this moment. We have big tests to come. We still have to get our Premier League form fully on track. There are still challenges to hit."