Panthers’ Chuba Hubbard plays on ‘Rolex’ time

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard's unselfishness in allowing himself to be tackled instead of scoring late in last week's 9-7 win against Atlanta earned offensive coordinator Thomas Brown's respect.

Chuba Hubbard is aware of how valuable time is when it’s given unselfishly.

Going against the rain and wind last week against Atlanta and trailing 7-6 with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Carolina Panthers faced third-and-3 from the Falcons’ 8.

Hubbard secured a handoff from Bryce Young and plowed through the Falcons’ defensive front and appeared to have an opening to the end zone. Suddenly, Hubbard allowed meek tackle attempts by DeMarcco Hellams and Jessie Bates III to bring him down without much resistance at the 2.

One hint that he was playing mainly for the team, Hubbard fell to the side and not forward, fighting for extra yardage.

“If you watch the tape … that’s not how Chuba normally gets tackled,” Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said during Thursday. “You watch Chuba, he falls forward.”
The opportunity for Hubbard to garner fourth-quarter glory was there, but it wasn’t time.

Brown, who is on his second stint as Carolina’s play-caller, said he initiated a “Rolex scenario in the headset to Bryce, which means we want to save the time over scoring touchdowns if we get a chance to get into the end zone.”

Brown said the situation is tabbed “Rolex” because it’s “an expensive watch. Time is more important. We want to save time, so that’s a Rolex deal for us.”

Brown smiled at the podium.

“You like that?” he said. “I thought you might.”

‘Selflessly, you want to score’

Tempered by a team-first approach, Hubbard understood the situation and the importance of time. If he had lunged forward and scored a touchdown, he could have been the game’s star.

But his time was more important, choking off any final-second heroics the Falcons could have pulled off if provided another offensive opportunity.

“Selflessly, you want to score,” Brown said, “but it serves us better to not put the defense back on the field. Give (the Falcons) no time at all to have a last-second, Hail Mary attempt.  

“We run the clock out, they have no shot.”

That’s what the Panthers did, forcing the Falcons to call their final timeout with 1:41 remaining. Young took a knee three times, winding the clock down to one second.

Placekicker Eddy Piñeiro connected on a walk-off 23-yard field goal, clinching a 9-7 win to snap a six-game losing streak. Energized by Hubbard’s seven touches, Carolina marched downfield over 17 plays on the game-winning drive over the final 7 minutes, 35 seconds.

For his three-field-goal effort, Piñeiro earned the post-game glory along with NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Hubbard earned Brown’s respect.

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