PITTSBURGH – Pierre Garçon had a feeling he would see a crowd of Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Actually, it was a former college teammate who let him know the added attention was coming.
The San Francisco 49ers running back rushed 14 times for 43 yards in a 43-18 road loss to the Steelers on Sunday. Seemingly every time Hyde had the ball, Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier and his defensive teammates weren't far away.
Shazier, a former Ohio State Buckeye like Hyde, recorded a game-high 15 tackles.
Following a 168-yard, two-touchdown performance on "Monday Night Football" meant Hyde would not be able to sneak up on any upcoming opponent, even against those, like Shazier, who know him best.
"Ryan actually told me, 'Yeah, we're going to lock in on you,'" Hyde said after the 49ers fell to 1-1 on the year. "They did that, but you have to get used to that, though. We have to get ready for next week. Have good practice this week and get better, we'll be all right."
Following "Sunday Night Football," Hyde still led the NFL with 211 rushing yards. Now, Hyde's practice availability will be something to track after he left the game in third quarter with a head injury.
Jim Tomsula announced after the game that Hyde cleared the team's concussion evaluation. Hyde returned to the field for the fourth quarter, and said he was good to go back in the game, but the lopsided score made it an easy decision for the 49ers to sit Hyde for the rest of the game.
"I was kind of dizzy when I got up, but I was good when I got to the sideline," Hyde told reporters of the play that led to him to get tested.
With Hyde sidelined, rookie Mike Davis carried the ball seven times for 14 yards. Colin Kaepernick led the 49ers with 51 rushing yards on eight carries.
Though Sunday's road test didn't go the way San Francisco wanted, Hyde spoke positively about what's next for his team.
"Nobody said this road was going to be easy," Hyde said. "We just have to come out next week and just fight."
