SANTA CLARA — The 49ers open up another season against a superstar running back on Monday Night Football.
But don’t ask Carlos Hyde if he’s buying into all the hype surrounding Rams running back Todd Gurley.
“I don’t follow him,” Hyde said. And he added more, to be clear.
“It’s just like last year. It’s a Monday night game. All the talk was about Adrian Peterson,” Hyde said, shrugging his shoulders. “We’ve just got to go out and do our jobs no matter what the media is talking about with other guys. I just have to go out and do my job.”
Hyde’s memory is rock solid. His performance from a year ago was, too.
Peterson’s return to the NFL grabbed every headline last September, but Hyde’s performance stole the show in front of the national audience. He rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, San Francisco won 20-3 and Adrian Peterson was held to just 10 carries for 31 yards.
In a season full of lows, Hyde’s Week 1 performance was perhaps the highest of highs for the 49ers. If San Francisco wants to upset the Rams on Monday, the same recipe for success will be required.
While the nation expects Gurley to run wild in Week 1, it actually could be Hyde doing most of the scampering. Hyde mentioned the 49ers offensive line has paved some of the biggest holes he’s ran through in the NFL. While the 49ers expectations at the quarterback position are near the rock bottom, Hyde really is positioning himself for a breakout year. Anthony Davis and Zane Beadles are much-improved guards in the middle and we can’t forget Chip Kelly’s system helped revitalize LeSean McCoy’s career in 2013.
When asked if he’s hopeful to get 22-25 carries in this offense, Hyde’s eyes lit up.
“If coach calls my number 25 times, I mean, I’m happy,” Hyde said.
The harder task to predict will be whether the 49ers defense can entirely down Gurley. He rushed for 133 yards on 20 carries in his lone appearance against San Francisco last November, and also gashed Jim O’Neil’s defense in Cleveland for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Holding him to 31 yards in the first quarter, let alone the entire game, seems like a daunting task.
But even against a stingy Rams front-seven, it’s a safe bet that Hyde is going to show up Monday night for the 49ers. Because if he doesn’t, Blaine Gabbert won’t know what hit him.