Simply six months in the past, Sam Hubbard accomplished one of the memorable performs in Cincinnati Bengals historical past, the “Rumble within the Jungle,” a 98-yard fumble return that put the Bengals forward of the Baltimore Ravens for good in a Wildcard matchup between the AFC North rivals.

And he did that simply 4 weeks after struggling a torn calf towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Earlier than that sport towards Tom Brady and firm, Hubbard had 6.5 sacks, together with sacks in three straight video games.

And the earlier yr, Hubbard ended the season enjoying with a torn labrum and torn meniscus however nonetheless sacked Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on back-to-back performs to propel Cincinnati to the Tremendous Bowl.

Lately, Hubbard shared with Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson that it took him “a couple of yr of bodily remedy to get again to regular” following that wonderful run to the AFC Championship. And but he was nonetheless in a position to put up sturdy numbers and sacked Mahomes once more in final yr’s AFC Championship Recreation.

Now Hubbard is lastly wholesome, telling Hobson that, “That is the most effective I’ve felt in my complete profession by a landslide bodily.”

And the self-branded “finest run edge defender within the league” is working laborious on creating extra cross rush strikes with defensive position coach Marion Interest.

He’s additionally developed a routine that’ll hopefully assist him face up to the trials of the NFL, telling Hobson: “My core self-discipline, my routine throughout the week, chilly publicity, sauna, vitamin. It’s a little bit bit higher in all areas… I’m able to put all of it collectively.”

The Cincinnati child is hoping to hit double-digit sacks within the common season for the primary time in his profession, however, extra importantly, he needs to complete the job and win a championship.

“My important purpose and solely purpose is to win the Tremendous Bowl,” he mentioned. With added assist within the cross rush from rookie Myles Murphy and an rising Joseph Ossai, it’s fairly potential that Hubbard will hit each targets.

So the place will Cincinnati end within the AFC subsequent yr? We previewed the convention with none aside from former Bengal Adam Pacman Jones:

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