Gore faults Baalke for his ‘messed up’ old team
INDIANAPOLIS >> First, Frank Gore ran up the NFL’s all-time rushing list to the No. 7 slot. Then, he helped the Colts to a 26-23 win over his former team. Afterward, he succinctly explained what’s happened to the winless 49ers.
“Trent messed that team up,” Gore told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ann Killion.
That would be Trent Baalke, who oversaw the 49ers roster for seven seasons before getting fired after last year’s 2-14 effort.
The 49ers are 0-5 for the first time since 2010, and they’ve lost 24 of their last 28 games dating to 2015.
Gore left the 49ers as their all-time leading rusher after the 2014 team, signing a three-year deal with the Colts rather than take a one-year offer from the 49ers.
John Lynch replaced Baalke as general manager in January, although coach Kyle Shanahan has ultimate control over the 49ers’ 53-man roster.
With a 9-yard run on his first carry, Gore moved into seventh place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. He finished with 14 carries for 48 yards and did not seem to mind teammate Marlon Mack tallying a team-high 91 rushing yards on nine carries.
“It’s a good thing we have him because he brings a different feel to the backfield,” Gore said.
• Tight end George Kittle picked a fourth-quarter drive to have the breakout effort of his young career.
“That last drive of the fourth quarter, he showed up big time for us,” Shanahan said.
Kittle had five receptions for 73 yards on the overtime-forcing drive, opening with a 28-yarder and ending with a a fourth-and-goal, 5-yard catch for his first career touchdown.
Said Kittle: “You get a rhythm going in the offense, Brian (Hoyer) is throwing great balls and giving me an opportunity to go up and make a play. That’s all I wanted to do.”
Kittle, a fifth-round draft pick, finished with seven receptions for 83 yards. He had a potential touchdown catch slip through his hands on a diving attempt on the 49ers’ first possession.
“We’ve got high expectations for Kittle,” Shanahan said. “He’s been battling through some injuries. He’s done some good things in the run and pass games.”
Kittle had a lot of family at the game, partly because his cousin, tight end Henry Krieger-Coble, was signed by the Colts on Friday and played as a reserve.
On Kittle’s touchdown catch, he extended the ball across the goal line just before his knees hit the ground, as a replay review verified. Said Kittle: “I’m glad they called it a touchdown before the reviewed it so I could celebrate a little bit. That was fun.”
• Ray-Ray Armstrong saved the 49ers from losing on the opening series of overtime by intercepting a Jacoby Brissett pass just inside the 49ers goal line. It was Armstrong’s second straight game with an interception.
“(Brissett) was looking right at me but I guess he didn’t see me,” Armstrong said. “He took a chance and I made a play.”
Armstrong returned the ball to the 49ers 28-yard line before stepping out of bounds. A pass-interference penalty vaulted them to the 50, but a holding call on Laken Tomlinson helped stall the 49ers’ only overtime series near midfield and a punt ensued.
• Rookie running back Matt Brieda had what Shanahan called “a hot hand” and saw his most playing time to date, resulting in career highs of 10 carries for 49 yards plus three receptions for 22 yards.
“It went pretty well. I’m happy they’re comfortable to play me that much and for me to do my role,” Brieda said.
• Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin had 116 receiving yards and caught just 5 of 11 passes targeted for him, including a 51-yarder to the Colts 8. That long catch set up the 49ers’ first touchdown, a 6-yard shovel pass to Kyle Juszczyk after Hoyer missed Goodwin on a fade the previous snap.
• Cornerback Rashard Robinson suffered from cramps, got victimized repeatedly on the Colts’ initial overtime series, but he defended a deep pass two snaps before the deciding field goal.
The 49ers cornerbacks corps dealt with other injuries, too. Asa Jackson (hamstring) and Ahkello Witherspoon (concussion) did not return from their injuries. Witherspoon, making his NFL debut in a relief role, got hurt on an illegal block in the second quarter.
• Hoyer had two balls hit the turf in the backfield, and although neither fumble was lost, the 49ers did lose field position. Hoyer’s first miscue was an attempted handoff (or play fake) to Kyle Jusczcyk, and Carlos Hyde later fumbled a pitch from Hoyer.