MUNICH, Germany — Maybe the best way to describe Chuba Hubbard's running style is that he runs habitually. His gift is the steady procession of stacking small accomplishments until you realize it's a big pile.

But that also means he's a creature of habit.

So when he walked on the field at Allianz Arena three hours before kickoff for his normal extended warmup, he was surprised to find out the Jugs machine wasn't there for him. And he wasn't thrilled about it either.

"My guys told me before, and I wasn't too happy, to be honest, but we improvised and made it work," Hubbard said after the 20-17 overtime win against the Giants. "That's what happens flying internationally, not everything's going to go your way, but you can still be all right."

That's a story about a mechanical passing machine not making the flight, and Hubbard having to catch passes from actual human beings Mack Whitehurst and Greg Almond from the equipment staff instead. But it's also a metaphor for the day and maybe Hubbard's career with the Panthers.

Despite a 1-7 start to the season, they've now won two in a row. Oh by the way, he celebrated what he called a "life-changing" contract extension with a new career high in rushing yards (153), and he added his seventh touchdown of the season.

So yeah, even though his routine was thrown off (the NFL provided one for Friday's practice, but it never made the trip from Bayern Munich's practice facility to their stadium), and even though he dropped a pass during the game, things worked out OK.

"I knew my guys Mack and Greg had my back," Hubbard said with a laugh as he walked toward the bus. "We made it work."

The Panthers certainly made it work, and Hubbard was at the center of that.

He ran it 28 times for those 153 yards and took all the work after backup running back Miles Sanders was injured in the first half and also caught four passes on a day when the offense needed to be steady.

"When you have a back like that, an O-line that you can lean on in the run game, that's huge," quarterback Bryce Young said. "It helped us out a lot, opened up a lot of things.

"Chuba played amazing, as he always does."

Knowing they can rely on Hubbard like that is why they were eager to give the "ultimate culture guy" that four-year contract extension this week because he has become one of those cornerstone players, a guy they trust implicitly regardless of the situation.

"I expected nothing less," head coach Dave Canales said. "It's the consistency of the guy. He showed up again and ran hard and ran the runs the way we wanted to versus the different looks. And they made it challenging on us, but we found some wins in there and we were able to finish the ball running it like we wanted to."

The day was not without its anxiety, as Hubbard crumpled to the turf in the fourth quarter and fumbled as he was being dragged down from behind. He mentioned that the grass surface, which Bayern Munich enjoys playing on (mostly with guys Eddy Piñeiro's size), was slick and caused him to change into seven-stud cleats. But he said the surface being a little slippery may have worked to his benefit Sunday night.

"I mean, I kind of buckled my knee earlier, and I slipped out, so I think it actually saved me," Hubbard said. "So I'm going to say thanks for that."

He's been saying that a lot this week, and they've been saying it to him in ways financial and emotional. What he means to this team at the moment can't be measured in dollars and cents.

Especially after he was able to come back on the next series, run the ball securely, if not spectacularly, and be there at the end to help set up Piñeiro's game-winning field goal.

"If I see one of our players on the ground, that always concerns me," Canales said. "But it was great to see him do some checks and balances and get up on his feet, and that was great for us to finish."

For Hubbard, it was the cap to an eventual week, which included flying to Germany in addition to everything else happening in his life.

So, in the moments after that one, he was willing to forgive people for the absence of his beloved Jugs machine, and he was able to express gratitude once again.

"To have this kind of impact is definitely a blessing," Hubbard said. "I mean, more than anything, I just want to win. So, to win in that fashion, obviously, it was a little crazy at the end, but to get two in a row with my guys feels good, especially in Munich."

And because it's two wins in a row now, Hubbard said he could feel that trajectory heading "upwards."

"I've been saying it, week in and week out, just keep trusting the process," he said. "It may not show Week 1, Week 2, or Week 3, but it's going to show up eventually, and we're just seeing the product of it."