James, Dixon take over for injured Hunter, disgruntled Jacobs

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Disgruntled veteran running back Brandon Jacobs, who has written on Twitter and Instagram that he hates playing for the 49ers, spent another game on the sideline.

He might not see the field again this season, as it appears the 49ers have found a way to compensate for Kendall Hunter's season-ending injury.

Jacobs was inactive for the 10th time in 13 games. Instead, the 49ers went with rookie LaMichael James and Anthony Dixon as the backups to starter Frank Gore.

James got his first chance to play this season, and he responded with 30 yards on eight rushing attempts.

"I'm happy for (James)," Gore said. "I saw LaMichael when he first got here. The offense was kind of rough for him. Camp was going kind of rough. He wasn't used to playing in small spaces, but he did a hell of a job. Our offensive coordinator G-Ro (Greg Roman) did a great job of putting him in a great situation in what he's used to doing in college. And he kept me fresh."

Dixon carried twice for 9 yards. He had an 8-yard gain to set up Gore's 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Then, Dixon entered after Gore gained 19 yards to the 1-yard line. Dixon responded with a 1-yard scoring plunge.

"I feel like we have the best backfield in the league," Dixon said. "We have a lot of talent. We are super deep. I know coach has a hard time trying to figure out what to do with all of us. It's a good problem. We just try to feed off each other."

James' value to the 49ers appears to be in running the zone read play with Kaepernick. Both players are familiar with that style of running game from their college days. Kaepernick ran the pistol offense at Nevada, while James thrived in Oregon's spread attack.

"I think it's something we're both comfortable with, so it doesn't take a whole lot for us to practice that," Kaepernick said.

Jacobs was not among the 49ers' 46 players active for Sunday's game. He was also the first to leave the locker room and head to the players' parking lot after Harbaugh's post-game speech to the team.

In recent days, Jacobs posted numerous photos of himself while with the New York Giants. In response to one followers question whether he hates playing for the 49ers, Jacobs responded, "Yes I do, and for good reason."

INJURY REPORT: Defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs, one of the 49ers' top special-teams players, is expected to miss time with a right knee injury. Coach Jim Harbaugh suggested the injury is not expected to sideline Dobbs for the rest of season.

"We might have dodged a bullet," Harbaugh said. "He may miss some time."

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