Chuba Hubbard trending up, Miles Sanders down    

PHOTO | TROY HULL

Chuba Hubbard, a backup running back his first three NFL seasons, has overtaken Miles Sanders on the Panthers' depth chart.

Trailing by one point with 3:21 remaining against Houston, Bryce Young faced a fourth-and-2 situation. The Carolina Panthers’ rookie quarterback targeted leading receiver Adam Thielen.

Unscripted, running back Miles Sanders ran into view, started to reach up to make the catch and nearly disrupted the connection.

"Yeah, there was a miscommunication,” coach Frank Reich said during his press conference following the previously winless Panthers’ 15-13 win at Bank of America Stadium. “So, hats off to Adam because you're breaking out and expecting the ball on time and all of a sudden you see Miles running at you and it could be a big-time distraction.”

With a fresh set of downs, Chuba Hubbard replaced Sanders and went to work with four consecutive touches. They resulted in two first down runs and 25 total yards, positioning Carolina for Eddy Pineiro’s game-clinching field goal.

Those decisive moments illuminated the running backs’ recent trend lines, entering Sunday’s home game against the Indianapolis Colts.

One up.

One definitely down.

Hubbard taking advantage of opportunities

Through the first three weeks of the season, Sanders played 124 snaps, compared to Hubbard’s 73. With Sanders returning from a one-game absence, Hubbard remained new play-caller Thomas Brown’s clear preference against the Texans. Hubbard was on the field for 40 plays, compared to Sanders’ 12.

When the Panthers needed tough yards, they turned to Hubbard.

On the first play following Thielen’s distracted first-down reception, Hubbard snared a short pass and gained 14 yards to the Texans’ 30, the final play before the two-minute warning.

On first and second down, Hubbard ran up the middle for 4 yards each time. On third down, he rambled forward and dove over a pile for 3 yards as the Texans called their final timeout.

“Chuba came up big,” Reich said. “Man, did we need those runs. It was a really clutch.”

A third year running back, Hubbard arrived as the backup to Christian McCaffrey. In 2022, after McCaffrey was traded, Hubbard was listed behind D’Onta Foreman, who gained a team-high 914 yards. In the offseason, Sanders received a four-year, $25 million contract and was immediately anointed RB1.

Through all the changes, Hubbard remained patient.

What did he take out of Sunday’s performance? In 15 carries, Hubbard registered just 28 yards. Three times in the second quarter he was stuffed on runs from inside the Texans’ 5-yard line, but late in the fourth helped clinch the win.

Sanders replaced as RB1, remains in rotation

Standing in front of his locker Sunday, Hubbard addressed the media about his pedestrian stat line.

“Man, I give my all to this sport, this team,” he said. “I’m just blessed to be in the opportunity to where the coaches trust me to be that guy. At the end of the day, you could run for 200 yards and still lose. You can run for 50 yards and get the win.

“I’m all about getting the win. When your number is called, you gotta show up.”

Will Sanders?

With Philadelphia last season, Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards on 259 carries and 11 touchdowns. In six appearances with the Panthers, he’s compiled just 190 yards on 63 attempts, with one TD. He has yet to produce one rush of at least 20 yards. He had nine in 2022.

By season’s end, Reich expects Sanders will contribute, but Hubbard likely will start Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

“I/we have a lot of confidence in Miles,” Reich said Monday. “Chuba’s getting the bulk of our carries right now with the way our run game is going. He’s a more physical, downhill runner, but Miles is a great player, so we want to continue to mix it up.

“I’ve seen this happen before, where it feels like an eternity to Miles. A two or three or four-game stretch will feel like an eternity to a player, but over the course of a season, it can turn. It’s not guaranteed … we’ll continue to rotate those guys through.”

Even though Hubbard keeps trending up while Sanders is tumbling down.

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