Frank Gore made history in his Jets debut Sunday, as he’s now atop the leaderboard for most games ever played by a running back.
Gore has now played in 227 regular season games after previously being tied with Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith at 226 games. Gore’s Week 1 appearance vs. the Bill also marks the start of his 16th NFL season, making him and Marcus Allen the only two running backs to ever to play that many years in the NFL.
Gore, 37, is third on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, trailing only Walter Payton and Smith. He’s more than 1,000 yards behind Payton for second all-time, so unless Gore has a resurgence in his career or never retires — you never know with him — he’ll more than likely remain in third place.
The fact that Gore is still playing at his age is truly astonishing. Most running backs break down by the time they reach their 30s, but Gore has kept his body in phenomenal shape and remains motivated in his first season with the Jets.
Adam Gase is a big fan of Gore, dating back to when the two were in San Francisco together. Even though Le’Veon Bell is the Jets’ No. 1 back, Gore will see his fair share of the workload moving forward. Gase has already stated that he wants to lessen Bell’s touches this season, which is where Gore comes in.
As he spells Bell moving forward, Gore will continue to add to his historic number of games played.