PHILADELPHIA â Some things just feel right.
A win, even if it comes as a grind.
A Rocky celebration while in Philadelphia.
An offensive performance from the Panthers that leaned on Chuba Hubbard and Tommy Tremble, in a number of different ways.
"It's fun, man. It's fun. We've been here about going on six years now," reflected Tremble.
"We've been through a lot together, a lot of time after putting work in, and so to see guys make plays when they need to, and you know I love seeing Chuba ball out and make plays, man, that gets me hyped up."
The two best friends have often done everything together, be it staying after practice to get in extra work to sharing birthdays and holidays, and on Sunday, as the Panthers fought for a 25-14 win over the Eagles, they dominated together.
Tremble got the day started with a 12-yard pass from Bryce Young in the second quarter to send the Panthers up 10-0, and finished with four catches for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
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He celebrated with his favorite movie, Rocky â "Honestly, I'll say my favorite is Rocky 4. Like Drago. Oh my gosh, man. He killed Apollo, but it was, it was crazy." â in the city where the movie character has his own statue, with a Rocky knockout celebration, with a dramatic assist from Jalen Coker.
While it's Tremble's favorite movie series, and he even has pictures of himself doing the pose on the "Rocky steps" when he and his dad visited Philadelphia during his high school years, he didn't really think about the connection until just before kickoff.
"We just kind of made that up, like 10 minutes before the game," laughed Coker.
Added Tremble, "I have an old picture with me and my dad holding the fist up like Rocky and stuff like that, so that's one of my favorite movies of all time."
Tremble's second touchdown of the day was the go-ahead score: a 19-yard dart from Young that was fairly easy, since no one was within a 10-yard radius of the tight end.
"He's a huge part," said Young of his tight end. "He's such a high-level player throughout the week. He does such a great job of just working, being in the right spots, keeping his head down, so I was super happy for him.
"He does so much of the dirty work that maybe doesn't show up on the box score, and if you're just flipping through the game, you're not going to see it, but he's huge for us. So I was super excited for him to get to the end zone twice."
The celebration on that particular score was in a slightly different vein. Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean had upended tight end Mitchell Evans earlier on the drive, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. After Tremble beat DeJean to get open for the score, he turned to point at the DB, a subtle message that he'd just been got.
It's the kind of taunt that can back up an extra-point attempt 15 yards15 yards, which it did, and the kick was short and will likely carry a fine, something Tremble is prepared to pay. It was one of 13 penalties on the day, and he knows he can't do it, given his coaches' constant message to "come back to us." But he's also going to defend his teammate.
"I just thought that earlier personal foul was just kind of egregious, and so it was uncalled for, something that didn't need to happen," explained Tremble. "I shouldn't have retaliated. That wasn't cool for me to do."
Hubbard finished with 28 carries for 120 yards and a rushing touchdown. He was the engine that drove the train as Carolina came out in the second half determined to wear down the Eagles, and what was a much closer score at halftime than many anticipated.
In the first half, Hubbard averaged 3.0 yards per carry. In the second half, that jumped to 4.8 per carry, bending the will of the stout Philly defensive front as he finished with 28 rushes for 120 yards and a score.
"Obviously have a ton of respect for the guys that we just played, and just, everyone in this league plays at a high level, so you're never able to tell, but for us, we want to make sure we're imposing our will, and especially at the end we want to finish on our terms.
"So seeing it come to light today was great against a really good unit. We have to make sure that we're consistent with that. We have to make sure that we're chasing that, and that's our standard.

On two crucial fourth-and-1s, Tremble lined up as a fullback with Hubbard in the backfield. The first time, Tremble led the way for his friend and a 19-yard pickup that put Carolina in the red zone.
"I get to play football," smiled Tremble of the play. "I get to be a football player, and so putting me in different spots, I enjoy it because whatever I need to do to make the team better or give the team a better chance to win, I'll do it and it's been a lot of fun.
"Going in there, him and me talking, he's like, 'Hey, I'm following you,' and that gets me hyped up, ready to know that I've got to make a play if he wants to make a play."
Added Hubbard of the experience, "Obviously we have a great, great relationship, but he's an animal. He gets after it no matter where we put him. He's selfless, blocks his ass off, does everything he's supposed to, and more.
Four plays later, facing another fourth-and-1 on the 3-yard line, they lined up in the same formation. This time, they didn't need to run a play, since Bryce Young used a hard count to make the Eagles jump in their own stadium. Two plays later, Hubbard punched it in for a touchdown, making it a two-possession game.
"I thought (Eagles defensive coordinator Vic) Fangio did an amazing job of just giving us different looks and making it challenging in the run game, but we were able to stick with it," said Canales.
"We were able to find some success and, you know, Chuba ended up with, I think, 120 or something like that by the end of it, and he's running the ball really well right now."
There were, of course, others who contributed heavily to the win. Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker each finished with six receptions for over 85 yards (McMillan with 86 yards, Coker with 97) and three defensive players registered sacks.
But something feels right, something foundational for the Panthers, about Chuba Hubbard and Tommy Tremble walking off the field together, smiles on their faces, and touchdowns to both their names, doing their part for the team they've helped change.
View some of the best game action shots from Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
















































































































































































