EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The San Francisco 49ers' running game got the team going early and the defense held on late.
Not exactly a formula that screams staying power, but Frank Gore will take it. And he hopes to continue taking, and giving, positive results for the Niners for years to come.
“I feel great and I know it’s a contract year for me,” Gore said Sunday after rushing for 95 yards on 19 carries in the Niners’ 16-10 white-knuckle victory over the New York Giants.
“I still love the game and I feel great and I still want to play the game. I feel like I’m still playing at a high level and, you know, I’m just coming out here week to week. And if I won’t be back here, then I’ll show the other teams what I can do ... when they watch film.
“But I want to be back here.”
Gore, one of just 10 backs in NFL history rush for at least 10,000 yards with one team, moved into 22nd place on the all-time rushing list Sunday, ahead of Thomas Jones and Jamal Lewis. With 10,615 yards, Gore’s next target on the list is Ricky Waters, who rushed for 10,643 yards, and Warrick Dunn, who is at No. 20 with 10,967 yards.
He is well aware of his place in NFL history but getting this season’s 49ers offense right is foremost on his mind. Especially with the 49ers pulling into a second-place tie in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks at 6-4.
Both teams, though, are three games behind the Arizona Cardinals and a game out of the wild-card race.
“We’re just worrying about us,” Gore said. “As long as we handle our business, at the end, whatever happens is going to happen. So you know we can’t worry about Seattle, Arizona, the Rams. We’ve just got to come out every week and play ball.”
There did seem to be a different look to the Niners’ run game in the Meadowlands, though coach Jim Harbaugh disputed it, somewhat. Twenty of their 31 designed rushes went outside of the tackles, with 15 of them going to the right side for 90 yards and five to the left side losing 5 yards, per Pro Football Focus.
“We did both,” Harbaugh said. “Both is good.”
Obviously the Niners had more success running to the right.
Gore did have a costly fumble at the Giants’ 19-yard line to end the Niners’ first drive that New York turned into a five-play touchdown drive of its own to take a 7-0 lead.
Entering Sunday, Gore had the second-most rushes among running backs without a fumble, per ESPN Stats & Information. Only Le'Veon Bell had more.
“You know, whatever Coach calls, we try to do it. Whatever,” Gore said. “So like I said, we’ll watch the film and we’ve just got to clean up some stuff.”
