Chuba Hubbard had an inauspicious start for the Panthers

The Panthers have hoped that rookie fourth-round pick Chuba Hubbard could be the main man at running back with Christian McCaffrey out with a hamstring injury. The Oklahoma State alum has been effective at times — he ran 24 times for 101 yards against the Eagles in Week 5 — but his Sunday against the Falcons did not begin well. On Carolina’s first play from scrimmage, Hubbard took the ball, and lost it to Falcons linebacker Deion Jones, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Linebacker Adetokunbo Ogundeji recovered the ball, and the Panthers were out of luck.

Not a great start for a Panthers offense whose quarterback (Sam Darnold) was benched last week against the Giants, and reinstated for this game. The Panthers came into this game ranked 30th in Offensive DVOA, and that will not help.