49ers frustrate Steelers, Big Ben

Alex Smith threw a touchdown pass as the 49ers shut down the Steelers, 20-3, Monday night in San Francisco in a game delayed twice by power outages.

Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions playing on a sprained left ankle for the Steelers (10-4), who missed a chance to move into first place in the AFC North.

A power outage just before kickoff and another in the second quarter blacked out Candlestick Park. Power returned and the game resumed after delays of 20 minutes and approximately 15 minutes.

The 49ers (11-3), who already had clinched the NFC West, still have a chance to earn a first-round playoff bye.

San Francisco has yet to allow a rushing TD and is the first team in NFL history to do that through 14 games.

Tebow-Brady: Big rating

The matchup of Tim Tebow's Broncos and Tom Brady's Patriots gave CBS its best preliminary rating for a regular-season game in more than four years.

Sunday's game in Denver, which the Patriots won, 41-23, was seen in an average of 19.5 percent of homes in the top 56 U.S. television markets, the most for CBS since a Patriots-Colts game in November 2007 drew a 22.5 metered-market rating, the network said in a statement.

-- Bloomberg News Around the league

Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox will miss the rest of the season after having back surgery to stabilize a vertebra. Coach Lovie Smith said the injury is not considered career-threatening . . . Browns coach Pat Shurmur said quarterback Colt McCoy has not been cleared medically to practice or play. He suffered a concussion Dec. 8 on a helmet-to-face mask hit by Steelers linebacker James Harrison.-- AP