Frank Gore was keeping a close watch up on the scoreboard while he was running like mad to make sure that no one would catch him before me made it into the end zone.
It wasn’t close at all.
Yes, I was looking, said Gore grinning. I was running all day long.
The spectacular afternoon for Gore re-established the 49ers running game single handedly.
Gore rushed for 207 yards in 16 carried and ran for touchdowns of 79 as well as 80 yards, his career best, as San Francisco defeated Seattle 23-10 and took an early lead in the NFC West.
Gore said, I said to myself to not look back. I said hey if they catch me, they catch me. I will just look ahead.
Gore, who during the first series went over the 21 yards rushing total for the 49ers in Week 1, almost made it to the franchise record of 212 yards that was established in 2006. However during the fourth quarter he had to leave the game when he sprained his right ankle. The sprain isn’t considered to be serious. Gore became just the second player in the history of the NFL to have running touchdowns of at least 79 yards during a game. He joined Barry Sanders who had touchdown runs of 82 and 80 yards October 12, 1997 versus Tampa Bay.
Gore, regarding joining the company of Sanders said, I’m happy about that. I didn’t know. In our division we are 2-0. We have proven to lots of people that we are improving.
Seattle (1-1) who was coming off their season opener where they defeated the Rams 28-0, suffered a large blow when Matt Hasselbeck, their starting quarterback, left right before halftime due to a rib injury after he has hit hard by Patrick Willis close to the goal line. Hasselbeck, after going 10 for 18 passing for a total of 97 yards with no touchdowns, did not return to the game.
Hasselbeck was transported to the hospital to get a CT scan and X-rays. The CT scan test results were inconclusive and X-ray results were negative. Hasselbeck was able to rejoin the team for the flight home.
Jim Mora, Seattle coach said, at this point it’s a bruised rib. He is doing a lot better. He is feeling more comfortable. At this point we think he will be ok, but that is very preliminary.
Gore posted only the third rushing game of 200 yards in the team’s history. September 24, 2000 Charlie Garner rushed for a total of 201 yards in Dallas. November 19, 2006 Gore rushed for 212 yards versus Seattle at Candlestick Park. On Sunday his 246 total yardage was his career high. Previously he had 238 total yards in the game versus Seattle in 2006.
Shaun Hill, 49ers quarterback said, I haven’t seen anything ever like that. He was really moving.
The 49ers got field goals of 42, 39 and 37 yards from Joe Nedney. The 49ers are off to their 2-0 start after coach Mike Singletary demanded that the players this week perform better and to find their identity in the running game. In Week 1 the 49ers defeated the defending NFC champion Cardinals in Arizona.
The defense of the 49ers was once again dominant this week. They handed Mora, former defensive coordinator of the 49ers, his first losing game since he took over coaching duties for Mike Holmgren in Seattle.
Singletary said, it’s too early for us to tell anything yet. It was ugly last week. It was ugly this week too, but I did love it.
The game was a lot different than Singletary’s debut last October at Candlestick. He replaced Mike Nolan as head coach after Nolan was fired. The 49ers lost to Seattle. During the game Singletary bench J.T. O’Sullivan, starting quarterback, and brought in Hill. At halftime Singletary pulled down his pants in order to make his point. He also sent Vernon Davis, volatile tight end, back to the locker room early when he was penalized for a personal foul.
In this game, Hill went 19 out of 26 for a total of 144 yards passing. He had no interceptions or touchdown passes and got sacked four times. Hills record at Candlestick as a starting quarterback went to 6-0 and his overall record as a starter in the NFL went to 9-3. He had an easy job on Sunday. Give Gore the ball.
In San Francisco’s victory over Arizona, Gore had only 30 yards rushing in 22 carries. In their previous four games with Seattle since Gore’s 2006 Pro Bowl season, he had averaged 76 yards versus the Seahawks. In the 49ers other 2006 game versus the Seahawks Gore rushed for 144 yards.
Aaron Curry, Seattle rookie linebacker said, it was just Gore being Gore. It’s just that simple. They gave the football to the right man. He is a guy who has your attention. It isn’t hard finding him. He runs very hard. Sometimes you can hear him grunting while he is running.
After he got hurt attempting to dive into the end zone, Hasselbeck was down on the ground for several minutes just 26 seconds before the end of the second quarter. Hasselbeck got stopped on the one yard line.
On the very next play Seneca Wallace, backup quarterback, came in and threw a touchdown pass of one yard to Julius Jones. That brought the Seahawks to within 13-10. For the game Wallace went 15 out of 27 for a total of 127 yards passing and one touchdown.
Ray McDonald got his second sack in two games. During the opening series he dropped Hasselbeck back for a loss of 7 yards with Seattle going three downs and out.
