Fourth-year back gets bell cow usage and adds to impressive rushing season
Chuba Hubbard owned the Panthers’ backfield Sunday with Miles Sanders (knee/foot) playing only six snaps and Jonathon Brooks a healthy scratch. Hubbard ran the ball 28 times for 153 yards and a score versus the Giants in Munich. He is now No. 3 in the NFL with 818 rushing yards, trailing only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. With Sanders banged up and Brooks ramping up slowly, Hubbard is getting bell cow usage and careening toward league winner status.
With the Panthers leaning into the run game and not much resistance from the Giants on the other side of the ball, Bryce Young threw only 25 passes, his lowest pass attempt total on the season. Young is a last resort QB start. He does not add much on the ground, although he did add 30 yards on the ground Sunday on two rush attempts.
In a low volume passing attack, Jalen Coker was the target leader with eight, catching just three for 41 yards. Xavier Legette caught three of his four targets for 40 yards and Ja’Tavion Sanders had the lone receiving touchdown on one of his two targets. Sanders caught his other target, but went down on the one-yard line. Otherwise, he would have had a two-catch, two-touchdown day.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb