Despite all the woes the Carolina Panthers have encountered this year, the organization finds itself in the hunt for a playoff spot with less than half a season remaining.
One of the issues that the team faced early in the season was the injury of star running back Chuba Hubbard, who missed two games after suffering a calf injury.
Since coming back from the injury, the 26-year-old back has yet to return to his 2024 form in his last five games.
When asked about his performance in Sunday’s victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Hubbard told reporters that he possibly rushed back from his injury.
“In all honesty, I’m a competitor, and when I came back from my calf [injury], I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be,” Hubbard told reporters on Monday. “Obviously, in the league, you’re never going to be 100 percent, but I just want to be there for my team, so maybe I rushed it back a little sooner than I should’ve, which is my own doing. The team does a good job of protecting me and taking care of me in that instance.”
After sustaining a calf injury back in Week Four, Hubbard slowly lost out of the lead back role with the emergence of Rico Dowdle. The 27-year-old running back tallied nearly 400 rushing yards in the two weeks Hubbard missed, and now has the fourth-most rushing yards in the NFL at 833.
Luckily for the former 2021 fourth-round pick, he showed promise in Week 12 in his limited role, carrying the ball five times for 21 yards. Hubbard also told reporters on Monday that he has been trying to get back to his normal self over the past few weeks.
“Throughout the last few weeks, I’ve just been trying to get back to 100 percent and feeling better,” Hubbard added. “Regardless, I think the [offensive line] played great [on Sunday], and their job of blocking up front is what led to good plays.”
Looking ahead at the rest of the regular season, the Panthers could use any help they can receive on offense. At 6-5, Carolina is currently in the midst of a battle for the last wild-card spot in the NFC, making Monday night’s battle against the San Francisco 49ers a must-win game.
If the Panthers manage to dethrone the 49ers and the New York Giants pull off an upset this week against the Detroit Lions, the franchise could be in a perfect position to land a playoff spot.