Tampa Bay at San Francisco Game Summary

		 Final Score: San Francisco 21, Tampa Bay 19

 San  Francisco, CA - Shaun Hill threw for 123 yards and three
 touchdowns,  as the San Francisco 49ers edged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 21-19,
 at Monster Park.

 Jerramy Stevens caught four passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns, the second
 of  which brought Tampa Bay within two points of the Niners with 1:20 to play.
 He caught a 24-yard pass from Luke McCown on a scrambling throw.

 The  two-point conversion  failed, though, as Michael Clayton stepped just out
 of bounds with one foot, despite catching McCown's pass in the back of the end
 zone.

 Hill  completed just  11-of-24 passes  and was  picked off  once, but  won his
 second  career  start as the  Niners were  victorious in their second straight
 game. He helped San Francisco (5-10) beat Cincinnati, 20-13, last Saturday.

 Frank  Gore ran for 89 yards on 21 attempts to go over the 1,000-yard mark for
 the  second season in a row, just the fifth player in Niners history to do so.
 He  also caught  four passes for 43  yards and a touchdown, while Vernon Davis
 and Darrell Jackson each caught a touchdown pass.

 Jeff  Garcia threw  for 196 yards and  a score on 12-of-20 passing against his
 former  team before  being  taken out  for  McCown, who  threw  for 185  yards
 and a  score, completing 18-of-32 throws.

 The  Buccaneers  (9-6), who had already  clinched the NFC South Division title
 last  week  with a  37-3 win  over Atlanta, will  be the  fourth seed when the
 playoffs  begin in two weeks. They were still jockeying for seed position with
 Seattle,  which  improved to  10-5 with  a 27-6 win  over Baltimore on Sunday.
 However, the Seahawks hold the tiebreaker over the Bucs by virtue of a season-
 opening win versus Tampa Bay.

 "What  we wanted  to do today was  give (Garcia) some work in the first half,"
 Tampa  Bay head coach Jon Gruden said. "I also wanted to take this opportunity
 to  evaluate some of our other players. We're glad we did that, and it will be
 a similar situation next week."

 Already  ahead 14-13 heading into the fourth quarter, the Niners wasted little
 time  extending their  lead. On the second play of the stanza, cornerback Nate
 Clements picked off McCown's pass at the San Francisco 15, and returned it all
 the way to the Tampa Bay 23.

 On  the Niners' first play from scrimmage, Hill completed a short pass to Gore
 on  a  checkdown, and Gore ran  20 yards into the  end zone. The score put San
 Francisco up 21-13 with 14:11 left in the game.

 Tampa Bay had several more attempts to cut into the Niners' lead, but the Bucs
 punted on the ensuing possession, and failed to convert a 4th-and-6 at the San
 Francisco 25 with 5:29 left.

 The  Bucs got  the ball  once more,  with 2:45  to play,  and McCown  took the
 reigns.  He completed  a 21-yard pass to  tight end Alex Smith, and an 18-yard
 pass  to Clayton down to the San Francisco 14, though an illegal block penalty
 brought the ball back to the 24.

 McCown's touchdown pass to Stevens on second down made the score 21-19, though
 the  two-point  conversion pass to Clayton  failed. Tampa Bay tried an onsides
 kick,  but the ball  bounced over the head of San Francisco's Arnaz Battle and
 out of bounds, effectively icing the game.

 "It was tough sledding out there," Hill said. "We were able to get some points
 on the board, but the defense and special teams set up most of our scoring. As
 an offense we didn't execute. I know I missed some throws. But it's gratifying
 to get the win when you don't play your best."

 Tampa  Bay held a slight lead in the first quarter after driving deep into San
 Francisco  territory  twice, but settling for  two Matt Bryant field goals. He
 made  a 34-yarder with  8:09 left, and a 22-yarder with 2:36 left, after Tampa
 Bay stalled on the four-yard line.

 Tampa Bay's inability to convert in the red zone allowed San Francisco to take
 a  7-6 lead on its ensuing drive, which spanned the first and second quarters.
 The  Niners drove 72 yards, and scored on the first play of the second stanza,
 a 21-yard strike from Hill to Jackson.

 The  Bucs, however,  eventually took  the  lead back  before halftime,  taking
 advantage  of a  Niners turnover. Davis fumbled deep in his own territory, and
 Tampa  Bay  linebacker Barrett Ruud recovered  to place the ball on the Niners
 36.

 The Bucs needed just four plays to score, as Garcia connected with Stevens for
 a  24-yard touchdown.  Smith ran a route  in the middle of the field, clearing
 space  for  Stevens on the right.  Stevens beat his  man up the field, and had
 enough  room to make  the catch and give Tampa Bay a 13-7 edge with 3:49 until
 halftime.

 Despite  taking the  lead, however, the Buccaneers got some unfortunate injury
 news.  Wide receiver  Maurice Stovall  was carted  off the  field with  an arm
 injury,  after  trying to catch a  pass from Garcia  with 11:01 to play in the
 same quarter.

 After  halftime, with  many Tampa  Bay  starters sitting,  San Francisco  took
 advantage.  Early in the third quarter, as McCown scrambled around his own 10-
 yard  line,  Niners linebacker Patrick Willis  forced a fumble and safety Mark
 Roman recovered at the 14.

 Four  plays  later, Hill  found Davis  over the middle  for a five-yard score,
 pushing San Francisco ahead 14-13 with 9:30 left in the stanza.

                                   Game Notes

 The  game was the last home game for San Francisco defensive end Bryant Young,
 who  is  likely to retire after  this season, after playing his entire 14-year
 career  with  the Niners... Smith  finished with six  catches for 79 yards for
 Tampa Bay, while Clayton finished with five catches for 71 yards.

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