‘Chris Carson is an animal’: The Seahawks’ star running back is a ‘warrior’ who keeps bouncing back

Chris Carson can still cook too.

The Seahawks’ star running back had 100 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in the 31-23 victory Sunday at Miami, returning in top form a week after he sustained a knee injury against Dallas.

“Chris Carson is an animal,” Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf said via Zoom after the game.

Carson being able to start the game Sunday was an uncertain possibility after the injury last week, when his leg was twisted by Dallas’ defensive lineman Trysten Hill late in the Seahawks’ victory over the Cowboys. Hill was later fined by the NFL for the play.

Then Sunday, Carson took a helmet to the chin on a hit by Miami linebacker Elandon Roberts midway through the second quarter.

It appeared Carson might have briefly lost consciousness as he fumbled the ball while falling backward on the play.

Trainers then evaluated Carson for a concussion on the sideline, and he did not play the rest of the half.

But Carson did return to start the third quarter, then posted 10 carries for 55 yards in the second half. He scored the Seahawks’ first touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the first quarter, then scored the Seahawks’ final touchdown on a 1-yard run with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“Chris is a stud football player, and he ain’t ever backing down from anything,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.

“ He’s such a tough football player and a great competitor – that’s not a surprise to us that he would bounce back and get back up off the turf. He took a hell of a shot and got back up and got right after it again. He’s a terrific football player.”

Carson, a 2017 seventh-round draft choice, is playing out the final year of his rookie contract, and his impending free agency is one of the more intriguing subplots of this season for the Seahawks.

Will they bring him back?

And at what price?

“Chris is a monster. He’s a dog, man,” Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright said. “I’m so glad that I don’t have to tackle anybody in the league like him, because I don’t believe there’s anybody that has his running style. I can’t wait till he gets paid, whether it’s here or somewhere else. But he’s definitely top five (among running backs) in my eyes.

“I’ve seen a lot of running backs. There’s nobody like him.”

Veteran backup running back Carlos Hyde was inactive Sunday because of a shoulder injury, leaving extra work for Seattle’s two young backs, Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas.

Homer and Dallas both attended the University of Miami, so the game Sunday was a homecoming for them at Hard Rock Stadium.

Homer, the Seahawks’ 2019 sixth-round choice, scored his first NFL touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Russell Wilson in the final seconds of the first half.

Dallas had his first NFL touches Sunday – in the same stadium where he scored his first touchdown for the Hurricanes in 2017. He finished with two rushes for 8 yards and two catches for 15 yards Sunday.

“When I came in I told Chris, ‘Shoot, we’re here to help you, bro,’ ” Dallas said. “He’s the lead horse, and we go as he goes. So today he was ballin’, man. And it just amped me and Travis up just to ball a little bit harder.

“He does come in and set the tone and he’s a warrior, man.”