CHARLOTTE — Chuba Hubbard sat by himself on the Panthers sideline, looks of both heartbreak and shellshock fighting for dominance on his face. He watched as the Buccaneers marched down the field with the ball—a product of a rare Hubbard fumble moments before—and kicked a game-winning field goal in overtime, stealing a 26-23 win.

"Just disappointed in myself, obviously," a contrite Hubbard began after the loss. "With everything that happened in the game for us to be in that position to just put it away. I expect better for myself. I know everyone does. They trust to give me the ball in that situation. I got to do my job."

He stayed on the bench, watching as his teammates trudged onto the field for post-game handshakes while he grappled with what had just happened. And finally, the man who has made a reputation for himself as the last one off the field day after day, committed to the work to be great, made his way to the locker room to face the music.

"Game on the line got to just run the ball, kick a field goal. Everybody's trusted me with the ball. I got to just do better," said Hubbard. "I own it. I'm going to be better. Obviously, a horrible way to lose, but all I can do is own it."

There are plenty of places and missed opportunities to point to as the reason the Panthers lost their ninth game of the season on Sunday. Missed field goals and settling for field goals in the red zone; a defense gashed in the run game and calls that will be talked about for a while. But Hubbard's fumble will undoubtedly be the point that hurts the most when reviewing the loss.

The Panthers scored a go-ahead touchdown with just over 30 seconds remaining in regulation. The Bucs subsequently drove downfield to kick a game-tying field goal, sending it to overtime. Once there, the defense held Tampa Bay to a field goal attempt, which was missed from 55 yards. That meant the next score won the game.

Carolina flipped field position on their possession, thanks to a one-handed catch by Adam Thielen that will be in the debate for best catch of the week, if not the year so far. The next play, Hubbard took the handoff and rushed up the middle for 4 yards before fumbling.

"Fundamentals," coach Dave Canales said as to the message from the play. "Just take care of the ball, you know what you got, you got your yardage there, ok, lock it up like we talked about, just the basics. He'd be the first one to come up here and tell you the same thing."

The ball bounced for a few seconds, with players from both teams chasing it. Tampa Bay's Yaya Diaby ended up on top. The Bucs drove back downfield again, and this time, made the chip-shot field goal to win.

"It (was) just a good play by the defense," Hubbard explained. "I got to have two hands on the ball in that situation as simple as that."

This was Hubbard's fourth fumble of the season and third lost, although arguably the costliest.

But he has also been in or around the Top 5 in rushing all season (but did drop to sixth on Sunday, 7 yards shy of the fifth spot) and is the workhorse that has driven this Panthers offense while it struggled to find an identity. He has 919 rushing yards on the season, with eight touchdowns.

It's why, despite the fumble, despite the moment of said fumble and the results, Hubbard's teammates are looking at the bigger picture.

"It's probably the easiest to not be upset with him because of the way that he works, the way that he puts so much time into this game, his body, his technique," Thielen said. "He puts so much in his preparation that there's a guy that you just say, 'Hey man, like this is football, the stuff happens. We know your heart; we know what you're trying to do.'

"We love that guy. And it's because of what he puts in week in, week out, and not one person; I know not one person in this locker room is thinking about him losing us that game. That is the farthest thing from the truth. So, he needs to know that from everyone because he's been carrying us as a team this whole year. So, obviously, it was so much love for him."

Added tight end Tommy Tremble: "We all got his back. He's a leader on our team. He's a guy we go to war and die for. We all left plays out there. It's a team effort, and we got to overcome anything."