The NFL announced their conference player of the week awards, and San Francisco running back Carlos Hyde came up short in his bid for Week 1 NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones took home the honor instead. Aaron Donald was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week and Tavon Austin was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Hyde put together a dominant Week 1 showing, finishing with 168 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. He also had two receptions for 14 yards. Jones had 141 yards on nine receptions, and also had two touchdowns. You can make strong arguments for both players, as they were each critical to their team's success. Personally, I think the spin moveshould have been what put Hyde over the top, but what are you gonna do?
The 49ers travel east to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. It will be interesting to see how much the Steelers sell out against Hyde and the ground game. The Steelers secondary struggled in a big way against the New England Patriots last week. The 49ers had a pretty straight forward game plan on Monday. It was focused on the run game, with the tight ends getting some solid work. Now we get to see if and how Geep Chryst adjusts to week-to-week defensive adjustments.