San Francisco 49ers: Why RB Frank Gore Is Team's Early MVP

Five weeks into the 2014 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers' 31-year-old running back Frank Gore is showing everyone why they shouldn't be giving up on him as beyond his prime.

We all know the story. Thirty-year-old running backs are supposed to call it a career. With the physical demands of the position, backs that crest this age are almost always relegated to reserve duties if they can find a job at all. Usually retirement is the favored route.

Someone forgot to tell this to Gore.

Gore is in a contract year this season. On top of that, the 49ers look as if they have found his heir apparent—rookie Carlos Hyde out of Ohio State.

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One could make the argument that 2014 is the proverbial passing of the baton between Gore and Hyde. But after San Francisco handed a defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5, all of us were reminded just how important Gore still is to the entirety of the 49ers' game plan.

At some point we will have to accept the inevitable. Gore's tenure in San Francisco—and subsequently his career—will come to an end sooner rather than later. One might have thought that Gore would have slowly given way to Hyde as the rookie learned the elements necessary for a featured back. 

That could still be the case, but Gore has certainly retained his accolade of being the No. 1 running back on the roster.

Perhaps 2014 is Gore's swan song. If that's the case, he has provided the 49ers with quite a burst as of late.

Before we go any further, let's dive into the numbers week by week.

	Opponent	Attempts	Yards	Average	TD
Week 1	@ Dallas Cowboys	16	66	4.13	0
Week 2	vs. Chicago Bears	13	63	4.85	1
Week 3	@ Arizona Cardinals	6	10	1.67	0
Week 4	vs. Philadelphia Eagles	24	119	4.96	0
Week 5	vs. Kansas City Chiefs	18	107	5.9	0
Total		77	365	4.74	1

As we recall, San Francisco easily trounced the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. The 49ers were out to a 21-3 lead before almost anyone could blink. By the half, the 49ers had increased the lead to 28-3 before essentially putting the rest of the game into cruise control.

Gore totaled 66 yards on 16 attempts—an average of 4.13 yards per attempt.

While Gore was not necessarily a featured part of offensive coordinator Greg Roman's offense, the lofty lead essentially allowed Gore to be taken out of the game plan. But San Francisco failed to score in the second half—a troubling problem that revealed itself twice more in the subsequent weeks.

In Week 2, Gore was about as active in the play-calling as he was the prior week, although he notched a rushing touchdown in the process.

But, as 49ers fans can recall, the offense all but abandoned the running game in the second half. This was obviously a questionable move given the fact that the Chicago Bears had allowed 193 rushing yards the week before.

With Gore limited in the second half, San Francisco's offense imploded. This gave the Bears the opportunity necessary to stage the comeback that thwarted San Francisco's Levi's Stadium debut.

Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals was the worst-case scenario.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Gore carried the ball six times for just 10 yards. While there were plenty of things to address in this loss, the lack of Gore's use was alarming.

“We did what the defense gave us,” said Gore via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area (h/t Darin Gantt of NBC Sports) after the Week 3 loss. Shortly after, Gore concluded, “I’m sorry, I can’t talk right now.”

Speculation followed around whether or not Gore was upset with the team's loss or with his role, really the lack thereof.

Given the historic reliance of the 49ers offense upon Gore during the Jim Harbaugh era, much of the criticism fell directly on the play-calling. Roman was one of the targets, and questions abounded as to exactly why Gore had been scantly used.

Roman tried to explain the actions later via the 49ers' flagship radio station KNBR 680 (h/t Tyler Emerick of 49ers.com):

"

I think Frank knew going into the game, we kind of outlined our game plan that we were going to start the game out a certain way and see how it went. In a perfect world, you're letting Frank and the offensive line take over the game at the end of the game, but we weren't in that situation, so we were never really able to transition into that.

"

Roman's words make sense to a certain extent. San Francisco was suffering a slew of penalties throughout the game—nine total for 107 yards. This, combined with some of the other 49ers' woes, forced the 49ers' offensive hand to a point, but Gore's lack of use continued to raise questions.

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“Frank is the ultimate pro, and he's the ultimate team guy,” Roman finished. “He wants to win, and he wants to play in the big games in January and February. So I think he totally understood what we were doing.”

Riding a 1-2 record, the 49ers needed to get back to the basics. Facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles at home in Week 4, Roman and the offense recognized the best way to keep the uptempo, high-flying offense of the Eagles in check was to win the time-of-possession battle.

This is where using Gore frequently and often came into play.

Against the Eagles, Gore amassed 119 yards on 24 carries—his highest totals on the season. He also bailed out quarterback Colin Kaepernick on a 55-yard touchdown reception, proving that he is still capable of being a receiving threat out of the backfield.

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Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today Sports summed up Gore's performance after the game:

"

The real Frank Gore is back, and with him, the real San Francisco 49ers offense. A week after a baffling game plan in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals that resulted in just six rushes for 10 yards for Gore, the 49ers looked like themselves again, with an offense powered by their 31-year-old running back ... Yet for the 49ers to be successful, it won't be because of Gore's clutch catches, it will be through his tough running, just as it has been so often over the past eight years.

"

Gore was paramount to San Francisco's offensive approach and a primary reason why the 49ers dominated the clock against Philadelphia—42:17 to 17:43.

But this game wasn't just one of those bright spots in what could be a waning career.

In Week 5, San Francisco would face off against the Kansas City Chiefs and a run defense that ranked No. 20 in the league with 466 yards allowed on the ground.

With the 49ers hoping to move above the .500 mark, maintaining possession and establishing the run would be a critical aspect to the offensive game plan.

Gore did not disappoint.

The veteran amassed another 107 yards on the ground, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on 18 attempts.

Stalwart running and a solid 49ers defense combined to give San Francisco its 22-17 victory over Kansas City. It was a throwback performance with Gore being utilized as a featured weapon.

Perhaps the greatest play from Gore came when Chiefs rookie defensive end Dee Ford literally ran away from Gore. The move, further described by David Fucillo of Niners Nation, showcases that the 49ers' No. 1 back still commands the respect of aging veterans and rookies alike. He still has that effect.

Here is a stat worth remembering—the 49ers are 13-0 during the Jim Harbaugh era when Gore rushes for 100-plus yards, per Taylor Price of 49ers.com.

When San Francisco was enduring its two-game losing streak earlier this season, Gore was a scant portion of the equation. With the exception of Week 1, the 49ers' victories in 2014 have relied heavily upon the services of Gore.

Sure, plenty of other aspects go into any victory week to week. We should not give all the credit just to one player. But we can easily see just how much of an impact one player can have on the outcome of each individual game.

Gore won't be able to put forth efforts like he did in Weeks 3 and 4 each and every week. Teams will be able to limit and stop him from time to time. Additionally, there will be moments where Gore is not as fresh as he has looked at this point in the season. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

A 17-week season can be quite a grind, especially upon a 31-year-old running back.

But Gore has yet to reveal the signs of him giving up the reins. This is still his offense and the offense still revolves around him.

Just one more thing remains in front of Gore from this point forward—a ring.

Gore and the 49ers will do everything in their power to assure he gets it.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers' news, insight and analysis.

Follow him @PeterMcShots on Twitter.