Final
49ers rebound by handling slumping Dolphins
Dec 10, 2012 - 2:48 AM San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Frank Gore, Anthony Dixon and Colin Kaepernick each scored a touchdown on the ground as the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins, 27-13.Gore carried the ball 12 times for 63 yards for the 49ers (9-3-1), who bounced back from last week's 16-13 overtime loss to the Rams. Gore's 50th career TD tied him with Joe Perry and Roger Craig for the most in franchise history.
In addition, Gore reached 1,000 yards rushing for the sixth time in his career.
Kaepernick completed 18-of-23 passes for 185 yards for San Francisco, which plays at New England next Sunday night.
"I think my comfort level is about the same as the beginning of the season. I've been comfortable this whole season with everything," Kaepernick said.
Ryan Tannehill connected on 17-of-33 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown for the Dolphins (5-8), who have lost five of six.
Miami bridged the first and second quarters with a 13-play, 52-yard scoring drive that took over eight minutes off the clock. Davone Bess caught back-to- back passes of 10 and 21 yards to move the ball to the San Francisco 28. Lamar Miller added an 8-yard catch on 3rd-and-7 from the 15-yard line. A pair of false start penalties proved costly, and Dan Carpenter made a 28-yard field goal to make it 3-0 with 13:31 left in the half.
The 49ers responded with a field goal of their own. Michael Crabtree's 16-yard catch was followed by an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Dolphins. Gore was stopped on 3rd-and-1 from the Miami 11. David Akers made a 30-yard field goal to tie the game.
Akers made another field goal before the half. Crabtree caught a 25-yard pass before Randy Moss hauled in passes of 13 and 17 yards. LaMichael James followed with a 15-yard catch to move the ball to the 11-yard line. The 49ers settled for a 37-yard Akers field goal as time expired.
A turnover by Miami led to a San Francisco touchdown early in the second half. Miami's Marcus Thigpen muffed a punt at the 9-yard line. Dixon ran for eight yards before Gore scored from one yard out.
Thigpen made up for his mistake with a 56-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. The Dolphins settled for a 53-yard Carpenter field goal, which cut the gap to 13-6 with 6:53 remaining.
The 49ers responded with a 13-play, 83-yard scoring drive that took almost 7 1/2 minutes off the clock. Bruce Miller kept the march alive early with a catch of two yards on 3rd-and-2. An offensive holding penalty set up 2nd- and-20. Gore caught a 19-yard pass to move the ball to the Miami 38. San Francisco went for it on 4th-and-1 and got the first down due to a defensive pass interference penalty. Gore's 19-yard run put the ball at the 1-yard line, setting up Dixon's rushing touchdown. The extra point made it 20-6 with 14:27 to play.
Miami kept it interesting by putting together a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Tannehill's 20-yard run and Reggie Bush's 9-yard catch on 3rd-and-8 moved the ball to the San Francisco 29. Bush added a 17-yard run three plays later to convert another third down. Faced with a 4th-and-goal from the three, Anthony Fasano made a one-handed grab along the left sideline in the end zone.
After the 49ers went three-and-out, the Dolphins moved the ball to the San Francisco 35. However, Tannehill threw four straight incomplete passes and Miami turned the ball over on downs.
"We had some opportunities to put some more points on the board and we didn't," said Miami coach Joe Philbin.
Kaepernick then put the game away with a 50-yard touchdown run. On 3rd-and-5, Kaepernick faked a handoff and sprinted down the left side of the field for an easy score.
Game Notes
The two teams have split 12 all-time meetings ... Kaepernick made his fourth straight start ... San Francisco defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs left the game with a right knee injury ... Bush carried the ball 14 times for 65 yards and caught five passes for 38 yards ... Crabtree caught nine passes for 93 yards.
- MIAMI: 13
SAN FRANCISCO: 27
Final
Dec 9 7:01 PM - MIAMI: 13
SAN FRANCISCO: 27
End of Regulation
Dec 9 7:01 PM - MIAMI: 6
SAN FRANCISCO: 13
End of 3rd
Dec 9 6:09 PM - MIAMI: 3
SAN FRANCISCO: 6
Halftime
Dec 9 5:17 PM - MIAMI: 0
SAN FRANCISCO: 0
End of 1st
Dec 9 4:34 PM - MIAMI: 0
SAN FRANCISCO: 0
1st Quarter - 14:55
Dec 9 4:08 PM
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