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There will be plenty to discuss about the 49ers 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins, but it seems only fair for "Victory Monday" to begin with recognition of Frank Gore. Although Gore did not put up monster numbers on Sunday, he continued his march through the 49ers statistical history, and was once again a key cog in the 49ers victory.
Gore finished the day with 12 rushes for 63 yards, two receptions for 22 yards and a rushing touchdown. The rushing touchdown was the 50th of his career, which ties him with Joe Perry and Roger Craig atop the 49ers career rushing TD leaderboard. Here is a look at that run, which was about as typical as it can get for Gore: finding the tiniest hole and somehow getting through for a key gain.
He would have surpassed Perry and Craig later in the game, but after a big run down to the 1, the 49ers turned the ball over to Anthony Dixon.
While that play was great for historical reasons, my favorite Gore play from Sunday might have been the screen pass he somehow turned into a 19-yard gain. The play was called on 2nd and 20 and looked like it might get snuffed out rather easily. Instead, Frank Gore used some sweet moves to evade Paul Soliai, among others. Here is a quick GIF of the move that got Soliai out of the way.
Frank Gore is not the fastest, strongest or shiftiest running back in the NFL, but his field vision is as good as anybody's in the NFL. Gore shows needed patience without turning into too much of a dancer. He has a certain mindset that just works perfectly.
Gore surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season, marking the sixth such time he has done so in his eight year career. In reality, this should have been his seventh straight 1,000 yard rushing season, but his busted hip cost him 1,000 yards in 2010.
Heading into Week 15, Gore actually has some fairly sizable milestones in front of him. The most discussed is his chance to set the franchise rushing touchdown record. But even bigger is the chance to surpass Joe Perry as the franchise's combined NFL/AAFC all-time rushing leader. He surpassed Perry for NFL rushing yards, but now sits 29 yards back of Perry's 8,689 total rushing yards. Not too shabby for a guy with two bum knees coming out of college.