San Francisco... 20 Cincinnati... 13

SAN FRANCISCO -- From the third-string quarterback to the $80-million cornerback, the San Francisco 49ers finally came together as the team they imagined three months ago.

And from Cincinnati’s awful opening drives to Chad Johnson’s final drop, the Bengals’ season fell apart in ways they couldn’t believe.

Shaun Hill passed for 197 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in his first NFL start, and the 49ers beat the Bengals, 20-13, Saturday night for just their second victory in 12 games.

Frank Gore rushed for a season-high 138 yards, and Darrell Jackson had a season-high eight catches for 86 yards in a surprisingly effective San Francisco attack led by Hill, a six-year veteran backup who threw his first NFL passes only last week after Trent Dilfer got a concussion.

With Alex Smith also injured, Hill was the only quarterback left for the 49ers (4-10) -- and he improbably sparked the league’s worst offense in the club’s first home win since opening week.

Hill, whose last start was for NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals in 2003, completed 21 of 28 passes, hitting Vernon Davis with a precise touchdown pass nine seconds before halftime and generally running the show with confidence.

The defense also deserved credit. Cornerback Nate Clements, who became the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player when he joined San Francisco as a free agent, led a solid effort against Carson Palmer’s receivers through several tough situations, including Cincinnati’s last drive, which ended for the Bengals (5-9) when Johnson bobbled a difficult fourth-down catch in the end zone with 2:14 left.

Palmer threw his 100th touchdown pass and passed for 252 yards.

Quoteworthy: “It’s one thing to sit there and visualize everything and feel like you can make all the plays. It’s another to go out and do it.” -- Shaun Hill, 49ers third-string quarterback