Choo-Choo-Chuba: Hubbard, the Panthers’ undeniable MVP, steams through Cardinals for win
The Carolina Panthers ran the same play twice in a row to finish off overtime and a thrilling 36-30 home overtime win over Arizona on Sunday. They call it “duo.”
“That’s our bread and butter,” said running back Chuba Hubbard, who takes a handoff from Bryce Young on the play and heads right. “Whenever we’re at the goal line or need one or two yards, we believe duo is the best play for us: downhill, double-team (blocks), man against man. We’re all for it.”
The duo-duo combination went first for 28 yards, putting the Panthers in field goal-range at Arizona’s 21 deep into the overtime period. But then after a timeout, Carolina (4-11) decided to not kick a field goal yet, even though a successful one would have won the game. Instead, here came the “duo” call again, and this time Hubbard had a hole — but also two Cardinals converging on him simultaneously.
“Pretty dope, man,” Panthers offensive guard Robert Hunt said, describing the next few seconds. “You know, (I’m) blocking, thinking the play is over. And then he makes two (defenders) miss and wins the game like that, for a walk-off.”
Hubbard indeed ran through two tackles, then high-stepped into the end zone and sent the Bank of America Stadium crowd home happy three days before Christmas in Carolina’s final home game of the season.
“It was a beautiful finish,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said.
“I kind of had an extra big chip on my shoulder from the previous overtime loss,” Hubbard said. “I just told myself that, if I get the opportunity, to end it the right way.”
Hubbard was referring, of course, to a very different outcome in another home overtime game only three weeks before. In that Dec. 1 loss, Carolina was about to upset Tampa Bay, with the ball inside the Bucs 35 and again needing only a field goal to win. But Hubbard, after a short gain, fumbled. Tampa Bay recovered and drove for a winning field goal as Hubbard sat on the bench, shell-shocked. Said a disconsolate Hubbard at the time: “Everybody trusted me with the ball. I got to just do better. I own it. I’m going to be better.”
And he was better, only three weeks later, in an extremely similar situation. Carolina had gone away from Hubbard on two third-and-short plays, with Young (who otherwise had a sterling game with three total TDs and no turnovers) getting sacked by Arizona (7-8) to end one drive and throwing a poor incompletion on the other.
For Carolina’s second possession of overtime, it was Chuba-Chuba-duo-duo, and that’s all it was.
Two plays, two carries, 49 yards and a touchdown, and just like that, a four-game Carolina losing streak had ended.
“Everyone just blocked their a----- off and I made the right cuts,” Hubbard said.
According to Panther wide receiver Adam Thielen, Hubbard more or less called his shot before the game’s final series. Said Thielen of Hubbard: “He said it on the sideline before we went out there, that it’s going to be on him. He’s going to go finish the deal.”
Hubbard’s final two big gains while finishing the deal pushed him to 152 rushing yards for the day and kept him firmly in the NFL’s top 10 for rushing yardage for the season (1195, easily a career high with two games left). He also scored two TDs in a game where the Panthers scored more points with Young as their starter than they ever have before.
If you’ve been watching closely, there’s really no debate that Hubbard has been Carolina’s Most Valuable Player this season. One of the last holdovers of the Matt Rhule era, Hubbard was a fourth-round pick in 2021 and has steadily improved in his four NFL seasons. If he stays healthy, he’s going to be a building block for the Panthers for the rest of the decade.
Although he gains a lot of yards, he does some other stuff, too. For instance, on Young’s touchdown run, Hubbard made two effective blocks — he nullified a blitzer first, then drifted into the secondary and hit somebody else to help free Young.
Said Young of Hubbard: “That’s my dog. The thing people don’t see is how hard he works… He cares and gives so much to this game.”
Now the Panthers have too much invested in the running back position — there’s no doubt about that.
The big contract to Miles Sanders was a mistake made by the previous administration. The second-round 2024 pick for Jonathon Brooks netted 22 rushing yards for Brooks’ entire rookie season before he got hurt again. Brooks might end up being a great player one day, but for now, the whole running attack has basically been devoted to Hubbard — who has the essential ability of availability, as well as several other talents. That’s why his $33.2 million contract extension ($15 million guaranteed) earlier this year was a smart move — Carolina just couldn’t let another excellent homegrown player walk out the door after that has happened so many times.
Sunday was another example of why Hubbard — who wore a Panther-themed varsity letter jacket after the game that he designed himself — needs to be here.
Hubbard and Young led an offense that tied a season high in points (Andy Dalton also got Carolina to 36 points in a win over Las Vegas). It was what Canales called “Panther football,” although he probably meant more from an offensive perspective.
Carolina’s defense, problematic against the run all year, had allowed James Conner 111 rushing yards by halftime and was fortunate he missed much of the second half and overtime because of a knee injury. The Panthers defense is still among the worst in the NFL in numerous categories and will almost certainly set a franchise record for most points allowed.
Still, at 4-11, Carolina has already doubled its win total from 2023. And it knocked Arizona out of playoff contention with the win.
“Ah, they didn’t make it? Good,” Panthers defensive end Jadeveon Clowney said. “They leave when we leave. I ain’t mad about that.”
Nobody much was mad leaving the stadium Sunday. Hubbard had high-stepped his way straight into a holiday celebration. The Panthers are still in the middle of a lost season, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find an afternoon full of happiness every now and then.
