For all two of you who still think that Buffalo Bills running back Frank Gore isn’t worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, another argument has been made to silence you. The former 49ers running back just toted the rock 6 yards and an additional 1-yard carry to give him 15,273 yards total. This puts him third on the total all-time career rushing yards list. That bumps Barry Sanders to fourth with his 15,269 yards.
Gore only needed 46 yards going into the game to get this milestone, so him passing Sanders was a foregone conclusion barring disaster. With that said, Frank Gore now sits behind Emmitt Smith (18,355) and Walter Payton (16,726) at first and second respectively.
Gore hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down and while we’d want to say him getting another 1,500 or so yards to bump Payton won’t happen, it’s also possible Gore’s career very well might outlive anyone born in 2019. His durability and productivity into his thirties is nothing but impressive since running backs find themselves on their way out of the league at this point.
For those of you new to the program, Niners Nation is a BIG Frank Gore house so I can tell you right now those comments are going to be something special. Gore was the heart and soul of so many teams, both good and bad. Many see him as a potential coach when his career wraps up, but at the rate he’s going, that might never happen.
He’s third all time. Forget if he’s going into the Hall of Fame, now get mad if he’s not in on the first ballot. If not, it’s definitely questionable given what he’s turned in.
Congrats to Gore. The 49ers faithful miss you, but we are nothing but happy all the same. We’ll be watching you in Canton. If humans can live that long.