When Chris Carson was down in pain on the CenturyLink Field turf a week earlier, it didn't just seem unlikely that he'd be on the field for the Seahawks' next game, it also looked like he could be out a long time after a nasty, and unnecessary, tackle that twisted his knee. 

But as bad as that play looked, Carson somehow not only escaped serious injury, he didn't miss a game. And Carson didn't just make it back for Sunday's game in Miami, he played a big role in Seattle's 31-23 victory over the Dolphins. 

"Chris is a stud football player, he isn't ever backing down from anything," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "He told us when we got back on Wednesday, he said, 'I think I'm OK. I'm going to make it.' So we took it easy on him the first couple days and got him through the week, and he looked great. It really helped us, because Carlos (Hyde) couldn't go with a sore shoulder, and Chris ran really well today. It was 80 yards worth of good running. He's such a tough football player and a great competitor that that's not a surprise to us that he would bounce back and get back up. He took a hell of a shot and got back up and got right after it again. He's a terrific football player."

Carson rushed for a season-high 80 yards on 18 carries, including a pair of touchdown runs, giving him five total touchdowns this season, production that was all the more important because Hyde was inactive with a shoulder injury. Carson also added 20 receiving yards on three catches, and he helped put the game on ice with three straight runs that gave the Seahawks the final first down they needed to run out the clock.

"I thought Chris was really exceptional today," quarterback Russell Wilson said. "He had some unbelievable runs, he was physical, he made great plays, he caught the ball well. He has just been tremendous for us in so many different ways. I think he's been on it since the moment he got he got back to Seattle, and he's just a special player, and we're glad he's on our team, that's for sure."

And it wasn't just coming back from last week's knee injury that showed Carson's toughness, he also was able to bounce back from a brutal hit in the first half that caused him to be evaluated for a concussion before he was cleared to return. He then came back from that to rush for 55 yards in the second half alone. 

"Chris is a monster," linebacker K.J. Wright said. "He's a dog, man. 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."

Or as receiver DK Metcalf so succinctly put it, "Chris Carson is an animal, as y'all have seen the past two weeks."