49ers show national audience the light

SAN FRANCISCO -- The 49ers were determined to show the light to a national audience Monday night.And that's what they might have done at Candlestick Park, as the 49ers played perhaps their most complete game of the season in a memorable 20-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers."We beat a great team on a national stage," 49ers tight end Vernon Davis said.The game will be talked about for years, for reasons that largely had nothing to do with football. Kickoff was delayed 20 minutes due to a power outage when a transformer blew outside the stadium. Play was delayed again in the second quarter when the lights went out a second time.NEWS: Candlestick struck by two blackouts
But that was just a sidelight to game that gave the 49ers another measure of legitimacy -- a victory over a team that has already clinched a playoff berth and was aiming for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
But more than the respect that victory might have given the 49ers, there was something much more tangible at stake."We needed this game for our own needs because we're fighting for that bye," 49ers receiver Kyle Williams said. "We have another team, New Orleans, that's coming after us. The fact it was on national TV was a bonus. But this was a game we just needed to win, period."
The 49ers (11-3) have the same record as the New Orleans Saints in the race for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. The 49ers hold the tie-breaker edge due to a better conference record. If the 49ers win their final two games -- at Seattle and St. Louis -- the 49ers will clinch a first-round playoff bye and a home divisional game."Probably the biggest game, I think, home game since I've been here," 49ers quarterback Alex Smith said. "Two talented teams, Monday Night Football, a lot on the line. Both teams still playing for playoff spots and playoff implications, and a lot of respect on the line."The 49ers' defense set the tone on the Steelers' first two possessions when defensive backs Carlos Rogers and Dashon Goldson intercepted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, playing with a high ankle sprain.Roethlisberger completed 25 of 44 passes for 330 yards. But the 49ers' pass defense made more plays. He threw three interceptions, including Tarell Brown's late-game pick, and he was sacked three times.Rookie Aldon Smith recorded 2.5 sacks, giving him a team rookie record of 13 sacks for the season. Charles Haley recorded 12 sacks in 1986 as a rookie.
"We played a good football team," Roethlisberger said. "It is very frustrating to feel like you down your team, the fans and the coaches. It's tough. I'm not going to make any excuses. I played a bad football game. I turned the ball over. That one is on me."And the 49ers' offense put together two timely touchdown drives in the second half to put the game out of reach."We played good football tonight," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "I'd really like to focus on that -- not the lights, not the locker room before the game."The 49ers settled for two field goals in the second half. But after the Steelers cut the 49ers' lead to 6-3 in the third quarter, the offense responded with a well-timed touchdown drive.Alex Smith engineered a five-play, 79-yard drive that featured a 31-yard pass to Davis, a 27-yard screen pass to Kendall Hunter and a 21-yard throw to Davis.From the 1-yard line, Smith faked an inside handoff to running back Anthony Dixon and threw to a wide-open Davis for the touchdown."You'd love to come away with sevens all the time," Smith said. "But any time you can get a couple down there in a game like this, it really changes the nature of the game. All of a sudden, you put them in a hole and make them one-dimensional."
The 49ers put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when defensive end Ray McDonald forced a fumble while sharing a sack with Aldon Smith. Justin Smith recovered at the Steelers 17-yard line.Harbaugh took points off the board after Pittsburgh's Lawrence Timmons was penalized for leaping on a David Akers field-goal attempt. Two plays later, Frank Gore scored on a 5-yard run.Alex Smith completed 18 of 31 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown, and he received one Pro Bowl endorsement from his coach."He was just right on the money all night long," Harbaugh said. "Played great. There's no doubt in my mind that he deserves to go to the Pro Bowl. He's had that kind of season."The 49ers' offensive line rebounded with a strong performance after surrendering 18 sacks in their past three games. The 49ers held the opposition without a sack for the fourth time this season."I thought they played a heck of a game," Harbaugh said. "They were really square in pass protection, picked up a lot of pressures. Alex did a nice job of stepping up."Said left tackle Joe Staley, "I think the main factor was the pregame work that everybody did across the whole offensive line."The 49ers managed another strong defensive showing despite playing without linebacker Patrick Willis, who missed his second game with a right hamstring strain. Larry Grant stepped up in Willis' absence and recorded five tackles with four passes defensed."It's a pride thing," Aldon Smith said. "It's a mentality. It's just something that we live by: Stop the run, stop the pass, play good defense."Just call it a lights-out performance.