Panthers inexplicably shy away from Chuba Hubbard, run game despite fast start

Rapid reactions to the Carolina Panthers' loss to the Chicago Bears.

David Banks-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers dropped to 1-4 Sunday evening after a lopsided loss to the Chicago Bears, 36-10. Carolina got out to a fast start scoring a touchdown on their second drive of the game, but things snowballed out of control in a hurry as the Bears posted 20 in the second quarter.

Here are a few of my initial thoughts from today's game.

Why go away from Chuba Hubbard?

I know the game kind of got away from the Panthers in the second quarter, but Dave Canales turned away from the ground game before it got out of reach. The Bears were taking away the underneath passing game and had airtight coverage in the passing game. The running lanes were there and Chuba Hubbard took advantage of it when he did get the football, rushing for over eight yards per carry. For this team to be competitive, they have to play clock control and keep their defense off the field.

This is not on Evero

As poor as the Panthers' defense played, there's only so much Ejiro Evero can do. I mean, let's be honest. The organization traded away Brian Burns and Donte Jackson, let Frankie Luvu and Yetur Gross-Matos walk, and has lost Derrick Brown and Shaq Thompson to season-ending injuries. Not to mention Josey Jewell currently dealing with a couple of things. This team lacked depth severely before the season even started and now they're really starting to feel the effects of it.

Not time to panic...yet

Starting 1-4 is never ideal, but the schedule sets up nicely with the Falcons, Commanders, Broncos, Saints, and Giants waiting on deck. Carolina won't be favored in many of those games, but they are certainly winnable, especially when they play like they did against Las Vegas and Cincinnati. If they fail to come out of that stretch with a record near .500, then will be the time to panic.

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