Ground game, defense help S.F. pick up victory
The ultimate compliment Jim Harbaugh can bestow on one of the 49ers sounds more like an obvious statement of fact: He is a football player.
After more than three years with Harbaugh, though, left tackle Joe Staley gets it: Coming from his pigskin-obsessed head coach, it is, indeed, high praise.
“I think he lives, eats and sleeps football,” Staley said. “So that’s a big compliment for him to consider someone a football player. Someone that’s tough and plays hard and physical and all that stuff.”
On Sunday afternoon, Harbaugh spent much of his postgame news conference praising various “football players” after the 49ers were tough, physical and all that stuff in a 22-17 win over the Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium.
The pregame story line was all about the quarterbacks: Kansas City’s Alex Smith, who returned to the Bay Area for the first time since the 49ers traded him 19 months ago, and Colin Kaepernick, who sent Smith to the bench in 2012.
In the end, however, the 49ers outscored the Chiefs 9-0 in the final 26 minutes thanks mostly to their vaunted running attack, not play from the glamour position. Frank Gore (18 carries, 107 yards) headlined a ground game that collected 106 of its 171 rushing yards in the second half.
“He can stand in front of the mirror and say, ‘Frank Gore, football player,’ ” Harbaugh said. “And feel really good about it.”
The power-running 49ers, who have the most rushing attempts in the NFL during the Harbaugh era, finished off the Chiefs with 27 runs and 12 passes in the final 30 minutes on a day when the temperature peaked in the low 90s.
The second-half time of possession: 49ers, 22:50, Chiefs, 7:10.
“I think as the game went on, you could kind of see that they were wearing down,” right guard Alex Boone said. “I think a lot of us were wearing down, but you’ve just got to be stronger than them at times.”
The 49ers fell to 1-2 after a 23-14 loss at Arizona in which Gore had six carries, fullback Bruce Miller played nine snaps and they uncharacteristically utilized four- and five wideout formations. They have since posted five-point wins over two 2013 playoff teams with Gore doing plenty of heavy lifting. The franchise’s all-time rushing leader has put together back-to-back 100-yard games for the first since Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 2011.
On Sunday, the 49ers trailed 17-16 entering the fourth quarter and responded with two consecutive field-goal drives. Gore had seven carries for 39 yards on the drives, and rookie running back Carlos Hyde (10-43) added 22 yards on six carries.
Hyde, a 235-pound bruiser, earned postgame you’re-a-football-player praise from Harbaugh for running with more ferocity.
Said Hyde: “After the game, he said: ‘See, that’s what I’m talking about. There we go. Way to get those pads north and south.’ ”
Still, the 49ers’ failure to finish drives with touchdowns — Phil Dawson had field goals of 31, 55, 52, 27 and 30 yards — left Smith with a chance to have a victorious homecoming.
Trailing by five, the Chiefs took possession at their 20yard line with 2:12 left. After a first-down incompletion, Smith’s next pass sailed over tight end Anthony Fasano and into the arms of cornerback Perrish Cox, who had a gamesealing interception for the second straight Sunday.
After the game, Smith shook hands with Harbaugh and exchanged hugs with some former teammates, including linebacker Patrick Willis and defensive tackle Justin Smith. Alex Smith completed 17 of 31 passes for 175 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.
“It’s tough because you’re competitive and you want to win the game,” he said. “I played a long time with those guys. It was different competing against them today.”
Cox’s pick capped a bounceback effort from the defense. After Smith tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to De’Anthony Thomas early in the third quarter, the Chiefs had a 17-13 lead and had collected 228 yards and 13 first downs. Their numbers in the final 26-plus minutes: zero points, one first down and 37 yards.
In the locker room, Miller pointed to the overall performance when asked about reports the 49ers have tired of Harbaugh. The 49ers entered as the NFL’s most penalized team, which some have used as evidence they’ve become undisciplined in their fourth season with their head coach.
On Sunday, they had two penalties, more than nine fewer than their average, and zero turnovers.
“The main thing is we’re doing it for each other,” Miller said. “We’re football players and we’re a football team.”