Alex Smith threw two touchdowns and ran for another and Frank Gore ran for 144 yards and had a TD catch as San Francisco posted a 24-14 win over Seattle Seahawks on Thursday.
In a National Football League game played in driving rain and whipping winds, Arnaz Battle had five catches for 97 yards for the 49ers (6-8), who snapped a three-game skid to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Just three minutes into the fourth quarter, Smith threw a go-ahead TD pass to rookie Vernon Davis to make it 10-7, capping an 11-play, 90-yard drive.
On the ensuing possession, Seattle fullback Mack Strong was stopped on 4th-and-1 at the 49ers 26 to give possession back to San Francisco.
Smith marched San Francisco down the field and, on a wild play, shook off Seahawks cornerback Kelly Herndon who came free on a blitz and threw a 20-yard TD pass to Gore down the left sideline to make it 17-7 with 4:01 remaining. Smith was 14-for-25 for 162 yards.
Entering Thursday's contest, Gore was the NFC's leading rusher with 1,347 yards, but he struggled through the first three quarters.
He gained only 53 yards on 21 carries before breaking out in the final period.
Matt Hasselbeck was 20-for-37 for 220 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the Seahawks (6-8), who had a chance to clinch the NFC West title with a win.
In a key matchup tommorrow, division champion San Diego seeks to avenge a loss to Kansas City.
The Chargers have won seven in a row to clinch their second AFC West title in three years under coach Marty Schottenheimer. Their last loss was a 30-27 defeat at Kansas City on October 22.
Lawrence Tynes kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to give the Chiefs the win after the Chargers had rallied from a 17-point deficit.
The Chargers have a one-game lead over Indianapolis and Baltimore in the battle for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Chiefs are in a scramble for the two wild-card spots. They are tied with Denver and the New York Jets and trail Jacksonville and Cincinnati by one game.
Last year, Kansas City failed to get into the playoffs despite possessing a 10-6 record.
In the Monday clash Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer square off after engaging in a shootout in their last game.
The rematch takes place on Monday when the Indianapolis Colts host the Cincinnati Bengals.
The first-place Colts have lost three of their last four games after a 9-0 start while the Bengals have won four in a row to move into a tie for the lead with Jacksonville in the AFC wild-card race.
Indianapolis can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a loss by Denver, which plays at Arizona.
The Colts can also seal their fourth straight AFC South title with a win and a loss by Jacksonville, which plays at Tennessee.
A two-time NFL MVP, Manning has passed for an AFC-high 3,628 yards and 22 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
Palmer leads the conference with a passer rating of 98.7, completing 65 percent of his passes for 3,399 yards and 24 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
Manning got the best of Palmer in the Colts' 45-37 win at Cincinnati in November last year.
Manning threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns while Palmer threw for 335 yards and two scores with an interception.
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