San Francisco 49ers: 4 Important Numbers from Week 4

218 – 49ers Total Rushing Yards

Sep 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore (21) rushes for few yards in the red zone against the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter at Levi

Another big problem for San Francisco the last few weeks has been their almost complete abandonment of the run game. In their defeat at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals in week 3, Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde combined for just nine yards.

Against the Eagles, it was a completely different story. Gore was given the ball 24 times, running for a total of 119 yards. Although he didn’t rush for a touchdown, he did have a huge 55-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.

Hyde also carried the ball ten times. And although he gained only 26 yards on the ground, the ten carries are more indicative of the fact that the team realizes they need to run the ball more.

Early in the first half, the run game was barely used, continuing the trend of trying to move the ball through the air. But as the pass rush got heavier and heavier, the ground game became more important, as holes were opened, leading to big gains on the ground.

This is the run game that has made the 49ers so successful over the past few years. Gore is still a premier back in the NFL, and Hyde has plenty of potential. Let the offense flow through these two.