(09-25) 19:22 PDT Cincinnati -- With the game hanging in the balance, the bell cow was a bystander.
After hurting his ankle in the second quarter, Niners workhorse running back Frank Gore was a frustrated spectator during the crucial moments of San Francisco's 13-8 win over the Bengals on Sunday.
It was running back Kendall Hunter who scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 7-yard run with 3:59 left, and the rookie remained on the field to carry the ball five more times for 2 yards on the final two drives as Gore watched.
Gore (17 carries, 42 yards) said the injury to his right ankle made it difficult to cut and the stat sheet offers evidence: 11 yards on eight carries after halftime. But his sore ankle wasn't serious enough to prevent him from playing, and he wanted to be more involved the game's latter stages.
"I know I'm a leader on this team," Gore said. "Just my presence out there was good for the team. I wanted to go. Especially in a game like this, I didn't want to give up ... It's tough. Knowing what type of guy I want to be out there."
After Gore lost a fumble at San Francisco's 16-yard line, which led to a field goal and a 6-3 Cincinnati lead, Hunter (nine carries, 26 yards) had eight of his carries.
Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said Hunter was "getting more snaps later in the game in response to Frank's ankle."
Gore, who had two carries for 4 yards after his fumble, has 148 yards on 59 carries (2.5 yards per carry) this season. He's averaged fewer than 3 yards per carry for three straight games for the first time in his seven-year career.
"I couldn't be myself, man," Gore said. "On some of the runs I couldn't make the cut I wanted to make. Hopefully I'll get better. I'll see how I feel this week."
Replay, please: Harbaugh said he would have challenged the call that wiped out wide receiver Michael Crabtree's leaping 10-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, but a replay wasn't immediately available.
Crabtree was ruled to have stepped out of the back of the end zone and come back in to make the catch, resulting in a 5-yard illegal touching penalty. Crabtree said he wasn't sure if he stepped out and FOX was tardy in showing a replay.
"We had no replay view of it," Harbaugh said. "And the official threw his hat early, and we figured he saw it."
On the bright side, Crabtree's acrobatic grab suggests his left foot, which he had surgery on in July, is causing him less discomfort. Crabtree (three catches, 24 yards) couldn't finish the season opener and was inactive in Week 2.
"The injury is behind me now," Crabtree said. "I'm healthy enough to continue playing, and I'm going to go out there and do what I need to do."
Briefly: The Niners, who limited the Bengals to 79 rushing yards on 20 carries, have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in an NFL-best 25 straight games. The Bears (11 games) rank second. ... David Akers' 23-yard field goal in the third quarter was the 300th of his career. Akers is 7-of-7 on field-goal attempts this season, hitting from 55 and 53 yards.
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