The Carolina Panthers moved to 3-0 on the season on Thursday night as they knocked off the Houston Texans 24-9. The win came at a cost though, as they lost star running back Christian McCaffrey to a hamstring injury.

Per ProFootballTalk, head coach Matt Rhule revealed what he told Panthers rookie running back Chuba Hubbard at halftime.

“I told Chuba at halftime, ‘That’s why we drafted you, man.’ I thought Chuba was outstanding. At the end of the half, we didn’t give him a ton of chances, but I thought he got in there at the end and made some key runs. When we can line up in four-minute offense and run and get the first down on two plays, especially versus that stout defense, that’s a credit to the offensive line, credit to the tight ends and full backs.”

With McCaffrey's timeline still not known for the Panthers, Hubbard and Royce Freeman could be in for much larger roles on Carolina's offense. Rhule kept it pretty simple when talking about what the expectations for both are if McCaffrey is to miss some time.

“Yeah, I think they just have to be starting NFL running backs, and Royce has done that before.”

It's been a really good start to the season for the Panthers but having to potentially go any amount of time without McCaffrey could prove costly. The good thing going for Carolina is that they appear to have two decent options to fill in if need be.