Shaun Hill converted just 7 passes, but three of them for touchdowns, as the San Francisco 49ers improved to 3-0 by holding off the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18 on the road. His most important completion of the day probably came in the final minute of the game when Hill connected with well-covered FB Michael Robinson in the flat on 3rd-and-3 for a first-down that allowed the Niners to run out the clock.
In a meeting of two sack-happy defenses, both quarterbacks were on their heels all afternoon. OLB Manny Lawson recorded six(!) of the 49ers total of eight sacks, coming up only one shy of the NFL's single-game sack record set by former Chiefs great Derrick Thomas.
Meanwhile, the hard-hitting Steeler defense forced Shaun Hil to the ground five times. Despite crushing hits, both teams stayed turnover-free until the fourth quarter. Down 10-7 entering the final stanza, the Niners turned the tide with a quick 79-TD drive. After colliding with Frank Gore, Hill rolled out of the pocket and found his wide-open RB downfield for a 42-yard TD pass to put the Niners back in the lead, 14-7, early in the fourth. The blitzing Niner defense then forced Ben Roethlisberger into back-to-back interceptions, and Hill and his offense managed to capitalize on the second pick with the QB finding Vernon Davis on a 7-yard out route in the corner of the Steelers' end zone to extend the lead to 10.
Trying to milk the clock with just over three minutes left, a fumble by Gore at midfield put Pittsburgh back in business. On a 4th-and-15 with less than two minutes to go, Roethlisberger sent Santonio Holmes to the house with a 38-yard-bomb down the left sideline. Jeff Reid's ensuing kickoff pinned the Niners deep in their own territory, but Hill's crucial third-down completion to Robinson sealed San Francisco's victory.
