National Football League
San Francisco 20, Pittsburgh 3
When: 8:30 PM ET, Monday, December 19, 2011
Where: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
Temperature: 51°
Head Official: Walt Coleman
Attendance: 69732


Alex Smith threw a 1-yard scoring pass to Vernon Davis and Frank Gore ran for a 5-yard touchdown as the San Francisco 49ers pulled away in the second half for a 20-3 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.

San Francisco (11-3) got a stellar defensive effort, forcing four turnovers and sacking Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three times in snapping Pittsburgh's four-game winning streak.

San Francisco extended its streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher to 36 games and became the only team in history to not surrender a rushing TD in the first 14 games of a season.

The loss was a costly one for the Steelers (10-4), who fell a game behind New England for the top overall seed in the AFC and dropped into a tie atop the AFC North with Baltimore. The Ravens hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a season sweep.

The 49ers intercepted Roethlisberger three times and used a dominating game of field position to stifle the Steelers, who did not start beyond their 20-yard line on nine consecutive drives.

Even when Pittsburgh finally got on the board, cutting the lead to 6-3 on Shaun Suisham's season-long 51-yard field goal with 6:08 left in the third quarter, San Francisco responded with the game's first touchdown on the ensuing possession.

Smith was 5 of 5 on the drive, hooking up with Davis for 31 yards and 21 yards before rolling out and hitting his tight end from 1 yard out for a 13-3 lead with 3:44 left in the third.

The 49ers then took advantage of two huge mistakes to break the game open. A sack of Roethlisberger and fumble recovery by Justin Smith set the Niners up at Pittsburgh's 17-yard line.

The Steelers stiffened and forced a short field goal attempt, but Lawrence Timmons was penalized for leaping on the play, giving the 49ers a first down at the 5. Gore plowed in two plays later for a 20-3 lead with 9:06 to play.

Roethlisberger, playing with a high ankle sprain, threw for 330 yards on 25-of-44 passing. Smith was 18 of 31 for 187 yards and a TD.

The start of the game was delayed 20 minutes by a power outage at Candlestick Park, and a second outage delay the contest for 16 minutes early in the second quarter.

Offense was at a premium in the first half with two field goals by David Akers accounting for San Francisco's 6-0 lead.

Akers’ 38-yarder with 12:13 to go in the second quarter gave him 141 points on the season and eclipsed the franchise single-season record set by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (138) in 1987.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Pittsburgh   San Francisco
Rashard Mendenhall Player Frank Gore
15 Attempts 18
64 Yards 65
4.3 Avg Yards 3.6
0 Touchdowns 1
11 Long 13
Receiving
Pittsburgh   San Francisco
Jerricho Cotchery Player Vernon Davis
5 Receptions 6
93 Yards 72
18.6 Avg Yards 12.0
0 Touchdowns 1
36 Long 31
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Pittsburgh 389 84 305 0 1 0 0.0 0
San Francisco 287 100 187 2 2 3 3.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • San Francisco will play their next game on the road against Seattle. The 49ers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Steelers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.