Gore runs roughshod over Seattle again

Dec 15, 2006, 5:10 GMT

Seattle, WA - Frank Gore ran all over Seattle again with 144 yards on 29 carries, as the San Francisco 49ers bested the Seahawks, 24-14, on a rain-drenched turf at Qwest Field.

Gore also caught four passes for 34 yards and a touchdown.

'They came out and played tough, but our quarterback opened it up for us,' Gore said. 'He started making passes downfield and we kept running and running, and we wore them down. That's what happened.'

In a 20-14 Week 11 win in San Francisco, Gore ran for a team-record 212 yards.

Alex Smith started slowly in the first half, completing 5-of-12 passes for only 38 yards, but he finished the game 14-of-25 for 162 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns for the 49ers (6-8), who snapped a three-game losing streak and spoiled Seattle's chance to win the NFC West title.

'We do not feel we should have lost a lot of games this year,' San Francisco safety Mark Roman said. 'It's just not playing our game, not executing and playing well, but this is what we are capable of and guys in this locker room need to understand that. This is who we are. We won some games this year, not by luck, but by playing hard and making plays.'

Arnaz Battle hauled in five passes for 97 yards and Vernon Davis caught a TD pass for San Francisco, which scored 21 unanswered points in the final quarter to sweep Seattle for the first time since 2002.

Despite starting the game 1-for-11 on third-downs, before converting their final six, being penalized 10 times for 87 yards and eight three-and-out possessions, the 49ers were just too strong in the second half.

'We're not where we wanted to be necessarily, but certainly after a victory like that and against a very good football team in Seattle it's pleasing,' said San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan. 'It's pleasing for a lot of reasons, but as I mentioned in the very beginning, it's most pleasing because we stayed the course in the things it takes to win.'

Matt Hasselbeck went 20-of-37 for 220 yards with a TD and two interceptions for the Seahawks (8-6), who have lost two straight.

Shaun Alexander ran the ball 23 times for 73 yards and a score while D.J. Hackett had eight receptions for 87 yards for Seattle, which can still clinch its third consecutive NFC West crown with a win in any of its final two games - against San Diego and Tampa Bay.

'We're not playing very well on offense,' said Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren. 'We've got some new people playing, young people playing, but that's not the only thing. We're making poor decision, we're dropping passes and we're not converting. We had two short-yardage situations tonight that normally we can convert and we don't do that. I'm unhappy with how we're playing.'

The weather was so bad that bubbles began popping up underneath the Field Turf due to drainage problems, delaying the kickoff 15 minutes.

Trailing 7-3, San Francisco took the lead as it covered 90 yards in 11 plays, highlighted by Battle's 54-yard reception to the Seattle 33, which ended the third quarter. He then kept the drive alive with a 13-yard catch on 3rd-and-10 on the 49ers 22, and two plays later Davis hauled in an eight-yard TD pass for a 10-7 advantage with under 11 1/2 minutes to play.

Davis was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the celebration for putting his foot on the pylon, giving Seattle excellent field position at the San Francisco 36. However, on 4th-and-1 at the 27, Mack Strong was stopped to halt the drive.

The 49ers responded by eating up more than 5 1/2 minutes of the clock, as Gore caught a 20-yard touchdown pass with 4:01 remaining. After a delay of game penalty on 3rd-and-1, Smith grabbed the high snap in the shotgun before brushing off Kelly Herndon on the safety blitz. The quarterback took the hit and then scrambled to his left before finding Gore, who carried the ball five times for 34 yards on the drive.

After Shawntae Spencer intercepted a Hasselbeck pass at the San Francisco 14 with 3:27 to play, the 49ers used a heavy dose of Gore to drive downfield and seal the win. His 40-yard run put the ball at the Seattle 20, and three plays later Smith went untouched on the naked bootleg for an 18-yard TD run.

The Seahawks did make one more trip to the end zone, as Jerramy Stevens caught a jump-ball for a 22-yard touchdown reception with nine seconds left.

Seattle got on the board first with a five-play, 44-yard drive. On 1st-and-20 from the San Francisco 24, Alexander scampered 18 yards before getting hit from the blind-side by Walt Harris. A number of 49ers had their hands on the ball, but Nate Burleson came up with it at the 3. On the next play Alexander ran it in for the score and a 7-0 lead.

The 49ers were clearly overmatched offensively in the first half, as they didn't gain a first down until the 2:43 mark of the second. The drive seemed to stall on 4th-and-5, but Michael Robinson gained 33-yards on a fake punt. Smith scrambled 16 yards on 2nd-and-goal from the 17 with 39 ticks remaining, but Kwame Harris was flagged for offensive holding. Two plays later Joe Nedney booted a 39-yard field goal.

Game Notes

San Francisco center Eric Heitmann left midway through the first quarter after breaking his right tibia. An air cast was put on before he was carted off the field.

Alexander has 62 straight games with a run of at least 10 yards or more, which is the longest streak in the NFL.

The 49ers' minus-124 first half point differential is the worst in the NFL.

With its first second-half TD possession San Francisco became the last team in the NFL with a touchdown drive of at least 80 yards.

The Seahawks are 2-for-8 on fourth-down conversions.

Hasselbeck is 24-6 at home.

Gore took the lead in the NFL's season rushing with 1,491 yards. Kansas City's Larry Johnson entered this week with 1,432 yards to lead the league, five yards more than San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson.

© 2006 The Sports Network