49ers notebook: Carlos Hyde bounces back from 1st NFL fumble (w/video)

Carlos Hyde scored the winning touchdown for the 49ers on Sunday, which was pretty good news for Carlos Hyde, seeing as how he was nearly banished from the offense after fumbling on the first play of the second quarter.

Hyde was known as a guy who rarely coughed up the ball at Ohio State, and this was his first fumble in the NFL. It didn’t sit well with him.

“I just felt I had let everybody down - especially myself, because I take pride in not fumbling,” Hyde said. “It took me a minute to get over that play, on to the next.”

It took the 49ers coaches longer than that. Though Hyde continued to return kickoffs, he didn’t get another carry out of the backfield until 4:34 remained in the game. But he finished the afternoon as the feature back and scored on a 4-yard run to put San Francisco up 17-13 with 2:59 remaining.

“I saw a big hole,” Hyde said. “You could ran through there. Offensive line did a great job on that scheme play. They brought up a big hole. One-on-one with a safety with full steam going into the end zone, I doubt if anybody can stop me on that play.”

BACK IN GOOD GRACES

Outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks made headlines for all the wrong reasons last week at the New York Giants. He yelled at defensive line coach Jim Tomsula about his lack of playing time, and wound up getting benched for the game.

Brooks came clean during the week and noted that he had apologized to Tomsula and to his teammates.

He went a step further after the game Sunday, saying: “Last week was last week. That was my stupidity, that was me being an A-hole. But it’s my job and my career, and I’m worried about that.”

Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said the matter was behind them, and the defensive rotation corroborated that. Brooks got the vast majority of snaps against Washington, with rookie Aaron Lynch relegated to a supporting role. Brooks said he appreciated Harbaugh’s supportive words during the week, too.

“It speaks volumes,” Brooks said. “And I recognize that myself. I told my fiancée, I was like, ‘Man, I like Harbaugh.’ I mean, he really did go to bat for me.”

HELMET TO WHAT?

One of the most notable plays Lynch was involved in occurred late in the third quarter, with the 49ers nursing a 10-7 lead. The athletic rookie linebacker sacked Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III on a blitz that would have set up third-and-17, but was called for unnecessary roughness on the play.

Replays seemed to show that any helmet contact was between Lynch and 49ers safety Eric Reid, rather than Griffin. Lynch also pushed on the quarterback’s head a little as he got up, but Harbaugh said that was not the reason for the penalty.

“The referee (Walt Anderson) told me that he had two officials that told him that it was helmet-to-helmet,” Harbaugh said. “Tried to explain, I thought what I saw was Eric Reid had his shoulder blade, is what made contact. And I didn’t think that was to the helmet.”

The penalty propelled Washington to the 49ers’ 16, and the visitors tied the game with a 27-yard field goal.

WORDS WERE SAID

An almost inevitable confrontation emerged when two of the NFL’s notorious hotheads - 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin and Washington defensive coordinator Jim Haslett - got into a shouting match at the visitors’ sideline.

“Guy tried to hit me late on a sideline, and I pushed him off of me, and he had some words for whatever reason,” Boldin explained. “I don’t even give that a second thought. He’s irrelevant.”

NOTES

Colin Kaepernick has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 18 consecutive games, tying the franchise record set by Steve Young in 1994-95.

The 49ers’ five sacks matched their season high.