Chuba Hubbard — Week 1: Two Touchdowns, and Every Target on Third Down
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 14
Hubbard scored twice — a four-yard catch on third and four in the first quarter and a two-yard run behind the left guard in the third — and every one of his three targets came on third down: the touchdown, a five-yard catch on third and nine that did not convert, and a twenty-nine-yarder on third and ten in the fourth. Ten carries for forty-nine yards, ten of Carolina's twenty-two rushes, in a 59–37 loss to the Bears.
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Carolina's first points of the season were a Chuba Hubbard catch on third down. 11 40 left in the first quarter, third and four at the Chicago four, no score, Bryce Young short right to Hubbard for the touchdown. It was worth +2.2 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — on a drive that had started at the Chicago 42 after Luther Burden's fumble, on which Hubbard had already run for three and six and a one-yard touchdown throw to Darren Waller had been wiped out by offensive pass interference.
His second touchdown was the run that tied the game. Second and one at the Chicago two, nine oh six left in the third, down 31 to 24: left guard, two yards, +0.8 expected points and 6.3 points of win probability. Three of his carries were on that drive — eight behind the left tackle, 11 around left end to the Chicago 11, and the score. The line on the ground: 10 carries, 49 yards, one touchdown, six of the 10 successful, longest 11, +1.5 expected points. Through the air: three targets, three catches, 38 yards, one touchdown, +4.3 expected points, and all three targets came on third down. The one that did not convert was five yards short left on third and nine at the Carolina 18 with 25 seconds left in the first, down 14 to seven, and Carolina punted. The one that did was the longest — 29 yards short middle on third and 10 from the Carolina 37 with five 30 left in the fourth, down 52 to 31, to the Chicago 34.
The split: Hubbard 10 carries, AJ Dillon five, Jonathon Brooks four, Young two scrambles, Kenny Pickett one. All five of Dillon's came on the last possession, the one Pickett finished, so of the 14 running-back carries before it Hubbard had 10. Carolina ran eight times before halftime and 14 after, against 40 pass plays; Hubbard had four carries in the first half and six in the second. Carolina converted four of nine third downs, and two of the four were Hubbard catches.
Back in June the preview had Hubbard on the watchlist: paying RB27 for the memory of the season before last after an RB42 collapse, in a committee built to shift toward Brooks, which made the whole question one of usage. Sunday's usage was 10 carries to Brooks's four, the run from the two, and three third-down catches. One game does not close a usage question. The first data point went his way. Carolina is at the Falcons on Sunday the twentieth.
_Data via nflverse._
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