This past Monday would feature one of the more bizarre incidents in recent memory on ESPN's Monday Night Football between the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers. Coming into the game the 49ers had a simple recipe to success which consisted of converting on third downs, capitalizing in the red zone with touchdowns instead of field goals and getting to the hobbled Ben Roethlisberger who Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin decided to go with despite nursing an injury in hopes of gaining sole possession of the no.1 seed in the AFC. That move proved to be costly however, as the Pro-Bowl quarterback looked a lot more like uncle Ben from Spiderman than he did Big Ben Roethlisberger thanks in large part to a high-ankle sprain coupled with a stingy 49ers defense which ranks first in the league.
But before the Steelers encountered a power outage on offense, the game would be hit with a 20 minute delay after a transformer blew up, leaving the sellout crowd of 69,732 at San Francisco's Candlestick Park waiting in the dark. Though both incidents are totally different, the power outage showed shades of the '89 earthquake that shook the bay area and interrupted the World Series that was held in the same venue between the Giants and A's. The delay alone should have been a bad omen for Big Ben to sit out as he threw his first of three interceptions on the night during Pittsburgh's opening-drive. The Steelers offense appeared to be on their way to an early lead before Roethlisberger threw in traffic and payed the price with Carlos Rogers coming up with his sixth interception of the season. Alex Smith and the 49er offense then took over and began marching down field with ease before making another dreaded trip to the red zone which once again resulted in a David Akers field goal after Smith blew a golden opportunity to connect with a wide-open Kyle Williams in the endzone.
Looking no better than he did on Pittsburgh's first drive, Roethlisberger would be intercepted for a second time after overthrowing Steelers tight-end Heath Miller as Dashon Goldson came up with the takeaway. The 49ers would take over on offense with David Akers once again adding to his case for MVP candidacy, splitting the uprights from 38 yards out to make it 6-0, San Francisco. The made field goal gave Akers the 49ers franchise scoring-record, surpassing the mark previously held by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (138 points in 1987). Early in the second quarter with Pittsburgh set to take over following a commercial break, the game would be delayed with a second power outage, this time lasting a shorter span of 15 minutes, but a nuisance nonetheless. After the half, the Steelers were finally able to put some points on the board with kicker Shaun Suisham connecting with a career-long 51 yard field goal to cut deficit in half.
In need of a score, the 49ers responded by making their first trip to the endzone with a well designed boot play as Alex Smith found a wide-open Vernon Davis for the touchdown. Trailing 13-3, Roethlisberger would then meet 49ers rookie Aldon Smith whom he became quite familiar with as the night wore on. The defensive-end who was chosen out of Missouri with the 49ers first round pick this year finished the game with 2.5 sacks before setting a franchise record for the most sacks in a single-season by a 49ers rookie with his 13th of the year. Among those sacks was a forced fumble as he and Ray McDonald teamed up to jar the ball loose with Justin Smith recovering. San Francisco would capitalize on the Pittsburgh turnover with a would be field goal, but an illegal leap by Laurence Timmons who was called for a running start in an attempt to block the kick, resulting in a 49ers first down. The call would haunt the Steelers as Frank Gore ran the ball in on the very next play to put the game out of reach, 20-3.
Despite being down by more than two scores in the fourth quarter against the league's best defense, Roethlisberger still wanted to play and coach Tomlin didn't seem to disagree with his decision. Choosing to keep him in the game, Tomlin would witness his quarterback throw his third pick on the night as Terrell Brown put an end to any sort of late-game heroics by the Steelers hobbled QB who couldn't wait to leave the bay area.
Noteworthy: With the win, the 49ers were able to keep pace with the 11-3 New Orleans Saints for the no. 2 seed in the NFC with San Francisco currently in control of the tie-breaker. The league's best defense improved their streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher to 36 games as well as becoming the first team in NFL history to hold an opponent without a rushing touchdown through the first 14 games. 49ers QB Alex Smith played mistake-free football and threw for 187 yards and 1 touchdown on 18-for-31 passing. RB Frank Gore finished with a game-high 65 yards on the ground to go with his touchdown. TE Vernon Davis compiled 72 yards and a touchdown reception on 6 receptions.
Preview & Prediction: Week 15 will see the 49ers take a trip up north to face a rejuvenated Seattle Seahawks team which currently stands at 7-7 after falling in an early hole to begin the season. Known for having one of the loudest stadiums in the country and one of the best home field advantages in all of football, Pete Carroll's Seattle squad will look to make the road for their division rivals a little bit harder as well as try for their fourth consecutive win. One area to keep an eye on will be Marshawn Lynch who could very well put an end to the magnificent run the 49ers defense has had this season by threatening to be the first to not only score a rushing touchdown, but also rush for over 100 yards. If they can contain him, look for the 49ers to come out on top by a final score of 20-13. Find out on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.
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