Broncos at Colts, 8:25 p.m. Thursday, NBC, NFL

INDIANAPOLIS — After carrying the football an astounding 36 times at an age when most of his peers have long since retired, Frank Gore seemed puzzled about all the fuss.

Asked how his body felt a day after a career-high number of rushing attempts in Sunday’s blizzard conditions in Buffalo, the Indianapolis Colts running back shrugged.

“I’m straight,” the 34-year old veteran said, even with Thursday's game against Denver looming just four days later.

His answer was so unexpected, so improbable that it immediately prompted follow-ups.

Specifically: Huh!?

What running back at Gore’s age runs the ball that many times? In eight inches of snow? With a defense stacking the line of scrimmage because passing the ball was, at best, an adventure?

Also, what, exactly, is Gore made of? Titanium?

“I guess it’s smart running,” said Gore, who ran the ball more times in one game than any back 34 or older since 1950, according to pro-football-reference.com. “I find the soft spots.”

That way, Gore said, he doesn’t take as much of a pounding from the defense. Thirty-six carries. Ho, hum. Nothing to see here.

Maybe the 36-carry, 130-yard rushing performance didn't seem worthy of celebration to Gore because, to him, that's what a running back’s day issupposed to look like.

Gore is a throwback. Always has been. He’s always seen himself as an every-down running back, one equally comfortable picking up an oncoming middle-linebacker blitz or converting a fourth-and-inches. He’s a between-the-tackles runner who craves the respect of his teammates and opponents alike (and he routinely garners large doses of both).

Just look at the guys Gore gravitates to and you get a sense of who he is. He still enjoys what will likely be a lifelong bond with former 49ers running backs coach Tom Rathman, Gore’s former position coach in San Francisco and the team’s former fullback — a guy who was cut from the same cloth as Gore during his own hard-nosed football career.

On Gore’s current team, among the players he most respects is tight end Jack Doyle, for whom missing a practice is practically front-page news. Doyle, in Gore’s view, is what the 13th-year running back refers to as “a football player.” It’s the highest compliment Gore can pay a player, and Gore is not one to hand out compliments liberally.

Gore himself is most certainly “a football player,” and that means if your team needs you to carry the ball 36 times, you carry it 36 times. No matter that it is the most carries by a Colts player since Edgerrin James' 36 rushes against the New York Jets in 2003.

“That’s the game he would rather have any day,” guard Joe Haeg said. “He was really enjoying it.”

“A man possessed — that’s what we’re calling him,” coach Chuck Pagano marveled.

Being a “football player” also means that if your team needs you to suit up and play again four days later — after 36 carries, in the snow against a packed-in defense — then you do it.

The Colts will have their final nationally televised contest of the season Thursday night at home game against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos, like the Colts, are an unsightly mess. They’re 4-9 and have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL. Yet they still have a defense that should be highly respected, a unit that is allowing the fewest yards per game of any in the league.

Gore doesn’t seem fazed by that. His latest exploits have him thinking more about the future. Earlier in the season, Gore sounded like a player as leaning strongly toward retirement when his contract expires after the season.

But as the weeks have passed, and Gore remains relevant, he’s changed his tune.

He even broached the idea this week of running for 1,000 yards for a second consecutive season. He’s running out of time, certainly, but Gore could reach the 1,000-yard mark for a remarkable 10th season if he averages 79.3 yards in the Colts’ final three games. That would be a tremendous achievement in the twilight of what increasingly looks like a Hall-of-Fame career.

“If I do that, that would be real big,” Gore said. “I’ve been told since I was 28 what I can’t do or (that I) will fall off this year. I’m out there and I’m still going and still having fun and showing people on film that I can play this game.”

About 2018, Gore does not leave much room for interpretation.

“I want to finish strong to give myself an opportunity for a team to want me,” he said. “If there’s a great situation, I’m gonna play.”

Of course Gore would play. What else would you expect from “a football player?”

Follow Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

MORE COLTS:

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Colts still 'thawing out' after epic snow game with game looming Thursday

Colts vs. Broncos

8:25 p.m. Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium

TV: NBC, NFLN