Chuba Hubbard Proves Worthy Of His New Contract In Panthers Victory
Chuba Hubbard must have heard the noise.
Days after Hubbard signed a four-year contract extension worth $33 million, the standout running back from Oklahoma State led the Carolina Panthers to their second straight win, a 20-17 victory in overtime against the New York Giants.
On a career day in Germany, Hubbard posted career highs in rushing yards (153) and total yards (169) as he ran all over the Giants defense.
The 25-year-old was the subject of national conversation in the sports world on Thursday, as reporters, analysts, and fans openly questioned the decision to hand Hubbard a new deal. After Carolina traded up in the 2nd round of the NFL draft to take Texas RB Jonathon Brooks, some wondered if Hubbard would remain in Charlotte beyond 2024, as he was in the last year of his rookie contract.
Hubbard’s stellar play and consistency, however, led to him landing what he called a “life changing” extension.
Panthers GM Dan Morgan raved about Hubbard following the announcement of the extension, saying Hubbard “exemplifies everything we want on and off the field.” In a tight game against a fellow 2-7 team, the world got to see firsthand what Morgan was referring to.
Carolina jumped out to an early 10-0 lead behind the legs of Hubbard and some solid throws from Bryce Young, and led 17-7 in the fourth quarter. They took their foot off the gas, however, and questionable play calling combined with some severe miscues (even Hubbard lost a fumble) gave the Giants ample opportunity to tie the game with 5 seconds remaining in regulation.
But the Panthers defense stepped up with an incredible stop on the first play of overtime, forcing a Tyrone Tracy Jr. fumble deep in Giants territory. This led to the game-winning field goal from Eddy Piñeiro to give Carolina their first back-to-back wins since 2022.
Despite Carolina’s struggles thus far, there have been a few positives that head coach Dave Canales is hoping they can build on. Perhaps the biggest of those positives is the rise of Hubbard, who has been among the best running backs in the league so far this season.
Entering Week 10, Hubbard was fifth in the league in rushing yards (665). He also set a new career-high for TDs in a single season today, as he scored his 6th rushing TD of 2024 against the Giants.
In what many have considered yet another lost season for Carolina, rumors swirled about the availability of many Panthers players as the league approached the November 5 trade deadline. Among those players discussed were Hubbard.
The Panthers had different plans in mind, and the vision for how Canales and Morgan want to build this team is becoming clearer. A strong, balanced running game with a healthy mixture of play action passes is what we’ve seen from Carolina for the past two weeks. It’s led to the most success that a Bryce Young-led offense has had in the NFL so far.
The playoffs are still out of reach for Carolina (barring any wild and chaotic scenarios), but the team enters their bye week with a different outlook than the one they had only a month ago.
There’s hope for the future of this team, thanks to the rise of these young players on offense in Young, Hubbard, Xavier Legette, and Jalen Coker. Of these players, Hubbard has been far and away the most consistent. His improvement has been a welcome surprise.
In Hubbard, they’ve found both.
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