Chuba Hubbard injured his calf in Week 5. In the two weeks Hubbard missed, his backup, Rico Dowdle, ran for 389 yards and had 473 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back wins.
Hubbard returned in Week 7, and now knows it was a mistake to rush back.
“I think in all honesty, like, I’m a competitor and when I came back from my calf, I [wasn’t maybe quite where I wanted to be](https://www.panthers.com/news/chuba-hubbard-feels-like-himself-again-and-ready-to-be-a-part-of-a-special-season),” Hubbard said on Tuesday, via Kassidy Hill of the team website. “Obviously, in the league you’re never gonna be 100 percent. I just want to be there for my team, so maybe rushed it back a little sooner than I should have, which is my own doing.
“I mean, I’m bad at that. I’ve always been.”
In Hubbard’s first four games back, he had only 34 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown with three catches for 25 yards.
“Maybe just feeling a little off,” Hubbard said. “I kind of had — not to get into the details of what exactly was going on with my calf — but I had a few different things going on with it. And it was just kind of hard to explain some of the stuff that I was dealing with.”
He got only four carries in Sunday’s win against the Falcons but gained 21 yards and had two kickoff returns for 51 yards.
“Throughout the last few weeks, just kind of been trying to get back to 100 percent and feeling better,” Hubbard said. “Regardless, I think the O-line played great, and their job blocking up front is what led to the good plays.”