Yes, the Niners, who have had the most rushing attempts in the NFL since 2011, initially caught the Cardinals off-guard with a pass-heavy, spread-them-out game plan. On the 49ers’ first two drives, they ran 26 plays, drove 160 yards, scored two touchdowns and had four carries by a running back. With a shortage at that position, the 49ers made extensive use of five wideouts and designed runs by Colin Kaepernick, who had a regular-season career-high 13 rushes for 54 yards. Arizona head coach Bruce Arians said the Cardinals assigned a spy to Kaepernick and played tighter coverage on the Niners’ wideouts. In the locker room, Gore, who has cried after losses during his 10-year career, paused for about 10 seconds when asked if he was stunned by the loss. A week after rookie cornerback Jimmie Ward surrendered three red-zone touchdowns to Chicago’s Brandon Marshall, the first-round pick was in coverage on Drew Stanton’s 21-yard third-quarter score to rookie John Brown. According to FOX, “refs” said Kaepernick used the n-word.