Chuba Hubbard gets his run for redemption, built on trust

The excitement was real as the normally reserved Hubbard high-stepped his way into the end zone, where the last of his 152 rushing yards came with a flourish.

It was a huge departure from his last overtime experience when they were circling him for a different reason and everyone was talking in the low moment about what he meant.

So after the adrenaline wore off, Hubbard was quiet and expressed gratitude for the opportunity.

“Obviously I was down at that moment, but I knew I was going to get one more and I was going to be fine with that,” Hubbard said. “So just blessed, happy to finish the right way. I mean, I’ve let it (the Buccaneers game) go, but it’s definitely been in the back of my mind. I had a little bit, as I said, when the next opportunity came , I told myself that I want to get it back for them and to be able to get them to trust me in that opportunity again.”

At other times, overtime runs are obviously designed to make a field goal, but the Panthers have invested a certain amount of their persona in Hubbard, so they enjoy finishing with the ball in their hands.

“This is just the attitude type of game, the type of finish we want to finish on,” Hubbard said. “Ends on our terms. And obviously all the safety was a big weight, making sure I had two hands on the ball the whole time and everybody just blocked their asses and I just made the right cuts.”

Just like they knew he would.

Just as they expect him to.