SAN FRANCISCO From the swirling winds off the bay that can play fits with the football to the 1989 earthquake that rocked the World Series, Candlestick Park has long been an unpredictable venue known for its challenges.
Monday Night Football nearly became a Monday Night Fiasco when everything went dark twice.
San Francisco's lights-out return to prime time in a 20-3 victory over the Steelers helped salvage what could have been an embarrassing evening for everyone involved on the NFL's biggest stage after a pair of power outages delayed the game for close to 35 minutes in all.
"I just feel like San Francisco took a big step to show the NFL and to show the state of California that they need a new stadium," Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. "I think it was a very strategic move, and Candlestick may be no more."
Good thing there's a state-of-the-art $1 billion stadium in the works.
The 49ers rode their top-ranked run defense once again to keep ailing Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger off balance and maintain a hold on the NFC's No. 2 playoff seed and a first-round bye.
"Electric atmosphere tonight," tweeted team president Jed York unclear if his pun was intended.
Vernon Davis caught a 1-yard touchdown pass for the 49ers (11-3) one play after setting himself up with a 21-yard reception from Alex Smith, Frank Gore ran for a 5-yard score and David Akers kicked field goals of 22 and 38 yards to overtake Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for San Francisco's single-season scoring record.
"I think we showed the world we can play the game of football on a national stage," Davis said. "At the end of the day that's what it's all about: respect."
The Steelers (10-4) missed a key chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC North and gain the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed.
Roethlisberger, playing on a sprained left ankle that had Big Ben in a walking boot during the week, threw two early interceptions and another in the waning minutes and a couple of light structures flickered as the final ticks elapsed.
Even all those Terrible Towel-waving Steelers supporters in the sellout crowd of 69,732 couldn't will their team when San Francisco's unique home-field advantage became two blackout delays.
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