Chuba Hubbard and 3 Panthers who could get reduced snaps at the Eagles

Dave Canales and his Carolina Panthers face arguably their toughest opponent of the season so far this weekend.

The Philadelphia Eagles are among the league’s hottest teams right now. Their eight-game winning streak has propelled them to the second seed in the NFC, behind only the Detroit Lions. They are led by stud running back Saquon Barkley, who is on pace to break the NFL's single-season rushing record.

This is another opportunity for Bryce Young to further cement his position as a potential future franchise quarterback for the Panthers. Following on from an impressive showing against the Kansas City Chiefs, we saw further growth from the signal-caller last time out versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Young once again put the Panthers in a position to win the game, giving them a 23-20 lead with just 30 seconds left. But as has been synonymous with this defensive unit this season, they couldn’t get the stop when needed. Following a crucial Chuba Hubbard fumble in overtime, a Chase McLaughlin field goal condemned Carolina to a second straight loss. 

The prospect of facing the league’s leading rusher while being 32nd in rush yards allowed per game is hardly a fun prospect for Carolina. The Panthers gave up 236 yards on the ground to the Buccaneers with Bucky Irving having a huge day. The single-game record for rushing yards by a single player is 296. Barkley could seriously challenge that.

Keeping this respectable would be somewhat of a moral victory. The Panthers are double-digit underdogs on the road. Despite marked improvement in recent weeks, the gulf between these two teams is a large one. 

With that being said, here are four Panthers who could play a reduced role at Lincoln Financial Field.

Carolina Panthers players who could get reduced snaps at the Eagles

Chuba Hubbard - Carolina Panthers RB

This feels extremely harsh, Chuba Hubbard played a crucial role in the heartbreaking Week 13 loss. An overtime fumble gave Tampa Bay the ball back and the Carolina Panthers wouldn’t see it again.  

Hubbard has already set a career-high for rushing yards with 919 and he is within touching distance of his first 1,000-yard rushing season. But the return of Jonathon Brooks coupled could eat into his snaps.  

Hubbard played 79 percent of the offensive snaps last Sunday, with Brooks playing 21%. It’s possible that number shifts closer to something of a 70-30 split in Philadelphia.

Fans got a glimpse of just what kind of impact Brooks could have with his first touch of the game on a check-down pass from Bryce Young. The second-round rookie came through an increased workload unscathed, which was another big boost. 

Hubbard is still the RB1. He shouldn’t see a great reduction in role simply because of one fumble. However, Brooks seems to have that home run ability Carolina has been missing offensively this season. Head coach Dave Canales would be foolish not to tap into that against the Eagles.