SANTA CLARA–There’s putting the team on your back, and then there’s what Carlos Hyde did on Thursday night.
No, Hyde didn’t carry the 49ers to a victory over the Los Angeles Rams. His 25 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns did help San Francisco keep the final score close.
While Hyde couldn’t carry his own team, he did put nearly an entire Rams’ defense on his back on a highlight-reel fourth quarter run.
#49ers Carlos Hyde a junkyard dawg this is some damn heart boy pic.twitter.com/7r7HtWtBaK
— JUMbotron (@Johnny_U_Miller) September 22, 2017
With time winding down and the 49ers looking to pull off a miracle comeback, Hyde slipped in the backfield on a first and goal run play. After taking the handoff from quarterback Brian Hoyer, Hyde stepped to his left, and immediately lost his footing. But before a Rams player could tackle him, Hyde jumped to his feat and spun out of a tackle. As Los Angeles defenders swarmed him, Hyde would not be denied as he twisted and turned his way toward the goal line while contorting his body past six-to-seven Rams’ players.
Though Hyde came up a yard shy of the end zone, he wanted his effort to set the tone.
“That is just the fight in me,” Hyde said. “I refuse to go down. I just keep fighting, that is how I play. I knew that it was going to be tough coming into the game. I didn’t expect anything less from the Rams. They always play us tough, especially in the run game. I knew that it would take the extra effort to get or or two extra yards to move the chains.”