CHARLOTTE — It wasn't necessarily one the Panthers would want to hang in a museum and marvel at its aesthetics. In fact, in many ways, it wasn't much to look at at all.

But to see running back Chuba Hubbard discuss it — with his bloody lip from the first of his two touchdowns on the day — it was easy to realize why they were savoring Sunday's 23-22 win over the Saints.

The Panthers had to get down in the dirt and fight to win a game there was every empirical reason to lose.

"I think building a culture and building an identity just doesn't happen overnight," Hubbard said. "It's something that takes time; it doesn't just happen through the good or the bad. You kind of have to go through the ups and downs and see both sides of it to see who you truly are.

"And you know, we still have a long way to go, but definitely feels good to, you know, see the bright side of it."

Being 2-7 isn't anything to celebrate. But it certainly beat the alternative because losing that would have been an extension of an already long season that's only now past the halfway mark.

"Games like that, I'd rather be a Panther today than a Saint. When the game is so close and you can feel it and it don't go your way," guard Robert Hunt said.

There was certainly a sense of sheer relief in the Panthers' celebration because they knew all the many ways this one nearly got away from them.

They were outgained by the Saints 427-246. They lost the turnover battle 1-0. The other team ran 24 more offensive plays than they did, outrushed them 197-80, and had a nearly 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

It's reasonable to think the Panthers had no business winning a game like this.

And yet, there they were in victory formation, with Bryce Young taking knees to kill the clock for the first time in his career. They practice it every Saturday, and this week, they needed it. But even before those knees, there was a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, the first for Young in that situation in his career. It seemed appropriate that Hubbard was the one to pound it in on a day with an odd lot of personnel because of injuries, trades, and the attrition that comes with a long season (Young himself might not have been in there if not for Andy Dalton being involved in a car accident two weeks ago).

"It felt good," Hunt said. "It felt really good. All week, it just came, and we kept believing, we kept fighting, and we know what it takes, I guess, to try to win a game. And today, it worked out for us, and we got our first dub in the Bank this year. So we're really happy. I mean, the people that were there, they saw we were fighting and clawing, and we got that one done. So we're excited."

But the Panthers hadn't shown a reason to expect that prior to Sunday, which is why that drive and that result was so important for the entire program, not just Young or any other particular player. And for Hunt, that huddle before the drive started was telling.

"Let's go get it, man, right now. Let's change the culture, man. Right here. We can start it right here," Hunt recalled. "That's what we were saying, like, let's start this thing right here. Let's not walk off the field without getting it done and we'll put some good players together.

"We all were saying that, man, I was saying it, he (Young) was saying it, we all were saying it, man, just speaking it up and trying to speak to existence. And that's what we did, man because you've got to start somewhere, right? And today feels good."

It was easy to find a spirit of gratitude because the Panthers haven't had many of these to celebrate. But they weren't giving this one back, not at any time, but especially not before boarding a long flight to another continent later this week. That's a long ride anyway, but it's a little bit easier now that they have some tangible evidence, something to point to that validates all the lessons Dave Canales has been teaching since he walked in the door.

Canales is big on doing basic things well on a daily basis. He talks a lot about finding joy in the work and reducing the game to its smallest units and fixing those. But even he, after that slog of a game, walked in with a huge smile on his face to a postgame press conference, beaming: "Well, that was fun."

It was fun they had to earn the hard way, from what they did on offense to Mike Jackson breaking up a fourth-down pass to seal it. They stretched the definition of "bend but don't break" to its literal breaking point, and yet, somehow, it worked.

"The guys just kept battling; the defense gave us another opportunity. And I was just so proud of the way that we finished," Canales said. "It's something that we talk about; it's just finding a way to finish, and sometimes it takes the whole time. Just proud of the guys, really fired up and excited for that.

"It was just a great job of the guys just having that finish mentality, and I think the discipline of it is you don't pass judgment on the outcome of a game based on what happens early on. And it was back and forth a little bit there. But for the guys to be able to play our calls, to execute the way we want them to execute and make plays when it came to them, the guys have got to be proud of that. I can't be more fired up for a group that has had to just fight and scratch and find a way to play defense."

But perhaps the best thing for Canales is that his players are beginning to sound like him, especially the leaders, the guys other players look to in difficult situations. The message is gaining traction.

Hubbard was exhausted, and bloodied, and relieved, and grateful. All at the same time. And as he talked about it, you could tell that it meant something more because of the way it came about.

"Coach Canales has kind of harped on us since day one; just keep trusting the process and build this identity regardless of what happens," Hubbard said. "And we showed our best today and kind of what we've been trying to build here. So to see it come to light is a good feeling. . . .

"I think that's how you want to finish the game, obviously a victory formation, but just knowing that, with the game on the line, defense getting a great stop early on and then afterward, they put it on us to get it in there and everyone showed up and did their part. It was definitely a great feeling. Just got to keep building off of the next."