SAN FRANCISCO — After the San Francisco 49ers’ running game fizzled last week, Frank Gore was too frustrated to sleep. He called offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye at 2 in the morning.

Raye was trying to catch some ZZZs.
Gore wanted to talk X’s and O’s.
Mercifully, there was no need for any late-night calls this week, not after Gore twice went long distance in a 23-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
En route to a 207-yard rushing day, Gore had touchdown runs of 79 and 80 yards “” the two longest scoring runs of his career.
He joined Barry Sanders as the only NFL running back with two touchdown runs of at least 75 yards in the same game. (Sanders went 80 and 82 yards against Tampa Bay in 1997.)
Gore had already joined an elite group with his middle-of-the-night phone call to Raye. The offensive coordinator said he also has been awakened by insomniacs Marcus Allen, Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson and Curtis Martin.
“All the great ones that I’ve have, they have so much pride in their performance,” Raye said. “They’ve had restless nights. Basically (Gore’s) call was more of a reassurance that we are going the right direction.”
Against the Seahawks, Gore’s runs thrilled a sellout crowd, including the guy with the best view in the house: Gore watched himself on the Candlestick Park video scoreboard during his first touchdown run. And when he noticed defensive backs Jordan Babineaux and Ken Lucas closing in on him from behind, Gore adjusted the picture.
“I saw it coming,” he said of the pursuit. “So I moved to the right, and I knew there was no way they could catch me.”
To the 49ers, the pair of touchdown runs took a back seat to the pair of victories. They are 2-0, with both wins coming against NFC West opponents.
Coach Mike Singletary, however, held back on the celebration. The 49ers also started 2-0 in 2007, with wins against NFC West opponents, before tanking to a 5-11 finish.
“We want to be a team that really makes a difference in this year’s playoffs, championships, whatever,” Singletary said. “That’s what we want to be and what we’re going for.”
Singletary was unhappy with the third-down efficiency (5-of-15) and tackling techniques and said the 49ers will have to do better in a tough road game against Minnesota next Sunday.
Perhaps the coach can take solace in the quick fix the 49ers made with their running game.
In Week 1, the 49ers averaged 0.8 yards per carry, and Gore never had anything longer than 6 yards. Their offensive line was bludgeoned in the game “” and then again in the press all week.
That’s why left tackle Joe Staley arrived at Candlestick with a chip on his shoulder pads.
“I told Frank before the game, ’We’re going to get you your yards today because we’re all pretty ornery,’ “ Staley said.
The 49ers took out their frustration early. On first-and-10 from the 21 with 2:48 to play in the first quarter, the 49ers called for a counter run to take advantage of the Seahawks’ overaggressive safeties.
Behind terrific blocks by left guard David Baas and right guard Chilo Rachal, Gore looked up to realize “it was just me, the safety and the referee.” He used the ref as a temporary shield and then showed off the speed he trained for all off-season.
Gore had spent his winter in Miami doing squats in the gym, sprints on the sand and 200- and 300-yard dashes on the track.
That’s why none of the 49ers worried about him getting caught from behind.
“Frank was running away from people,” quarterback Shaun Hill said. “He’s pretty impressive.”
The first touchdown run gave the 49ers a 10-0 lead. They led 13-10 at halftime before Gore put the game “” and defenders “” out of reach on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Gore took a handoff on a zone read and set up behind Staley at left tackle. He waited patiently and picked just the right time to make his cut. “I looked up and saw him go by,” Staley said.
“And there was nobody in front.”
Gore went 80 yards this time. Heading into the game, the longest touchdown run of his career had been 72 yards.
His second score Sunday made it 20-10, and the defense did the rest. Seattle played the second half without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who suffered a rib injury on a hard hit from Patrick Willis just before halftime.
Seneca Wallace finished up at quarterback for Seattle, which converted just 4 of 14 third-down chances. The Seahawks had only 66 rushing yards and averaged 2.9 yards per carry.
“We had them playing our style,” said cornerback Nate Clements, who had his second consecutive strong game. “We forced them to play our type of football.”