It took the playoff-bound 49ers, who have failed in the red zone more often than not lately, a trip to the Arizona desert Dec. 11 to finally get burned.

But it will be on the gridiron’s biggest stage tonight at Candlestick Park against the Pittsburgh Steelers where San Francisco will, once again, try to right its red-zone wrongs.

Last week’s 21-19 downer against the division-rival Cardinals marked more than San Francisco’s third defeat this season.

The 49ers, failing to score a touchdown in the first half for the fifth straight week, settled for four field goals, three of which were the result of the offense being stonewalled inside the Arizona 10-yard line.

The practice remedy that both coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Alex Smith provided during the week was simple: More red-zone reps. 

“Know this — we’re trying to score touchdowns,” Harbaugh said. “It’s important to get points when you’re in the red zone. You have to have points because that leads to winning football.”

Smith, understandably, concurred with the assessment.

“No question [we] need to get better down there,” Smith said. “And part of that is just getting comfortable with it … getting reps. We’ve just got to execute better too, and we’ve left a lot of food on the table, so to speak.”

But a win today will mean much more than just getting back into the victory column.

With last week’s loss, San Francisco (10-3) is now clinging to its No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC. With the New Orleans Saints (11-3), who crushed the Vikings 42-20 on Sunday, peaking, the Niners need a win to keep pace. But the storied Pittsburgh franchise is one that is trying to exorcise some football demons of its own.

During last week’s 14-3 win against the Cleveland Browns, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained an ankle injury, and it is unknown if the two-time Super Bowl champ will be ready tonight.

But Roethlisberger aside, San Francisco will look to benefit from the absence of Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison, who was issued a one-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet wallop on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy.

Harrison, one of Pittsburgh’s premier defensive players, leads his team in forced fumbles with two, while racking up eight sacks and 42 tackles this season.

But if the 49ers are in need of some bailing out tonight, they can certainly bank on the one thing that has been solid all season. Aside from being the No. 1 rated defense against the run, San Francisco remains a team that specializes in knocking the ball loose, collecting 13 fumble recoveries and 18 interceptions.

And if the Steelers’ two lost fumbles last week are of any indication, that’s good news for the faithful.

The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers lost, it was against a Harbaugh.

And if Ravens coach John Harbaugh — who is trying to hold on to a one-game lead over AFC East rival Pittsburgh — has anything to do with it, he will help little brother, Jim, prevail today.

That was confirmed last Monday when a reporter asked John if he would help the 49ers rookie head coach scout the Steelers. John, unintentionally amusing, answered that question with a question.

“Is there any NFL regulation on that?” John asked Ravens spokesman Kevin Byrne.

Byrne’s response: “I think it’s fine for brothers to talk and exchange information.”

“I’m sure there will be some of that,” John said. “The truth is, coaches do that around the league based on best interest and things like that. I know for a fact a lot of coaches have spent a lot of time talking about us before they play us, so I’m sure we’ll try to help him in some way if we can.”

Jim, though admitting that he and his coaching sibling spoke, was tighter-lipped on the subject than a gag order.

49ers quarterback Alex Smith, while offering that such information could be useful, was weary of overstating any advantage.

“[John Harbaugh] knows them, plays them twice a year,” Smith said. “But you can turn on the film and you see it just as well. So, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still playing the Steelers and they’re a good football team.”

GAME DAY

49ers (10-3) vs. Steelers (10-3)

WHEN: Monday, 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Candlestick Park

TV: ESPN

RADIO: KNBR (680 AM), KSAN (107.7 FM)

Jim Harbaugh was talking about criticism, conceding when the 49ers lose, there will be second-guessing.

“The whys for what happened,” he calls it. The worry is not what happened, but what didn’t happen, with the 49ers unable to get a victory.

“They’re the hunted now,” Harbaugh said of his Niners, after winning the division, surprising everyone — except maybe the Niners themselves — and compiling a record tied for second-best in the NFL.

The hunted, and seeking explanations, looking not so much for excuses, but reasons.

The personal foul against linebacker Larry Grant, the failure to call a personal foul against the Arizona defender who smacked Alex Smith on the knee.

“Things,” insisted Harbaugh, “that when you look at it, really changed the course of the game.”

There are always “things,” questionable calls, bad bounces. Good teams, great teams, just go on. As did the 49ers in 1989, when they played in the cold, on the road, late at night, in the rain and won a Super Bowl.

The best don’t whine. When he was No. 1, Roger Federer shook his head at an obviously bad call by a linesmen and won the next point. If Tiger Woods’ ball trickled into a bunker, in his best days, he recovered with a shot to within inches of the cup. They know they’ll do it. Their opponents know.

The Niners aren’t quite there yet. They can’t punch it into the end zone — 10 field goals and only three touchdowns the past three games. They can’t overcome screwups by the officials or last weekend’s mechanical failure by the instant replay machine, which created a long delay when they had the ball.

“Grant gets called, roughing the passer,” said Harbaugh, “when he was cut. He got back up, hit the quarterback in what looked to be the thigh. OK. You understand that can be called. We had the same things happen to Alex.

“On the pass right before the fake field goal. Defender gets cut, gets back up, lunges into Alex’s knee. No flag. That would have been a first down. We still have the ball. Larry [Grant’s] penalty gives them a first down, which leads to [an Arizona] touchdown.”

Could-have and would-have are the words of, well, not losers because that is too strong, but of non-winners. The Niners are last in the league scoring in the red zone. That’s why they have dropped two of their past three, not because of officiating.

Next come the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Super Bowl team from last year, tough, even brutal. The Steelers won’t have James Harrison, suspended for yet another vicious hit, this one helmet-to-facemask on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy. The great Ben Roethlisberger may be limping.

No matter, the Steelers play to the extreme, employing what they have, instead of worrying about what they don’t.

It was reassuring when Harbaugh, asked if a positive comes from a loss, answered, “You don’t really get into what’s good, what’s bad. It’s what you make of it … Make the what-ifs irrelevant by how we handle it, how we attack, how we go forward.”

Like the good, old days. It isn’t how you won or lost, it’s whether you won or lost.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. Email him at typoes@aol.com.

Jim Harbaugh was talking about criticism, conceding when the 49ers lose, there will be second-guessing.

“The whys for what happened,” he calls it. The worry is not what happened, but what didn’t happen, with the 49ers unable to get a victory.

“They’re the hunted now,” Harbaugh said of his Niners, after winning the division, surprising everyone — except maybe the Niners themselves — and compiling a record tied for second-best in the NFL.

The hunted, and seeking explanations, looking not so much for excuses, but reasons.

The personal foul against linebacker Larry Grant, the failure to call a personal foul against the Arizona defender who smacked Alex Smith on the knee.

“Things,” insisted Harbaugh, “that when you look at it, really changed the course of the game.”

There are always “things,” questionable calls, bad bounces. Good teams, great teams, just go on. As did the 49ers in 1989, when they played in the cold, on the road, late at night, in the rain and won a Super Bowl.

The best don’t whine. When he was No. 1, Roger Federer shook his head at an obviously bad call by a linesmen and won the next point. If Tiger Woods’ ball trickled into a bunker, in his best days, he recovered with a shot to within inches of the cup. They know they’ll do it. Their opponents know.

The Niners aren’t quite there yet. They can’t punch it into the end zone — 10 field goals and only three touchdowns the past three games. They can’t overcome screwups by the officials or last weekend’s mechanical failure by the instant replay machine, which created a long delay when they had the ball.

“Grant gets called, roughing the passer,” said Harbaugh, “when he was cut. He got back up, hit the quarterback in what looked to be the thigh. OK. You understand that can be called. We had the same things happen to Alex.

“On the pass right before the fake field goal. Defender gets cut, gets back up, lunges into Alex’s knee. No flag. That would have been a first down. We still have the ball. Larry [Grant’s] penalty gives them a first down, which leads to [an Arizona] touchdown.”

Could-have and would-have are the words of, well, not losers because that is too strong, but of non-winners. The Niners are last in the league scoring in the red zone. That’s why they have dropped two of their past three, not because of officiating.

Next come the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Super Bowl team from last year, tough, even brutal. The Steelers won’t have James Harrison, suspended for yet another vicious hit, this one helmet-to-facemask on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy. The great Ben Roethlisberger may be limping.

No matter, the Steelers play to the extreme, employing what they have, instead of worrying about what they don’t.

It was reassuring when Harbaugh, asked if a positive comes from a loss, answered, “You don’t really get into what’s good, what’s bad. It’s what you make of it … Make the what-ifs irrelevant by how we handle it, how we attack, how we go forward.”

Like the good, old days. It isn’t how you won or lost, it’s whether you won or lost.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. Email him at typoes@aol.com.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) —
John Skelton
earned redemption in a rematch with San Francisco. The Arizona defense and a spectacular show by
Larry Fitzgerald
made it possible.

Skelton stepped in for the injured
Kevin Kolb
and threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns, and the Cardinals rallied to hand the 49ers their third loss of the season,
21-19, on Sunday.

Fitzgerald had seven catches for 149 yards, including a 46-yarder for a touchdown and a 53-yarder to set up the go-ahead score.
He also had a vicious block that helped free
Early Doucet
on a 60-yard touchdown reception.

“That’s Fitz being Fitz,” Skelton said.

Arizona (6-7) has won five of six after a six-game losing streak left them 1-6.

“You guys stuck a fork in us quite a while ago,” coach Ken Whisenhunt told reporters after the game. “I think our guys never
let it get to them. How many times during those first weeks did we say that we were going to stay the course and that it was
going to turn for us? We believed it.”

Kolb left the game after a blow to the head on Arizona’s third play. Skelton, benched after throwing three interceptions in
the Cardinals’ 23-7 loss at San Francisco on Nov. 20, had a 60-yard TD pass to Doucet and a 3-yard toss to
Andre Roberts
for what proved to be the winning score early in the fourth quarter.

“You’re only as good as your last play, your last game,” Skelton said. “You kind have to live with that until you get another
opportunity. You never know when that opportunity is. You’ve just got to be ready and make the most of it.”

Skelton was able to overcome two interceptions and a lost fumble in this one.

Arizona sacked
Alex Smith
five times after getting five against Dallas in its 19-13 overtime win over the Cowboys a week earlier. The 49ers (10-3) were
at the Cardinals 4-yard line twice and the 6 once in the second quarter and had to settle for short field goals by
David Akers
each time.

Frank Gore
rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries for the NFC West champion 49ers (10-3), including a 37-yard touchdown run that put San Francisco
ahead 19-7 early in the second half. He passed 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth time in his career, but didn’t do much damage
after that.

Smith completed 18 of 37 for 175 yards and no TDs. He lamented the missed opportunities in the second quarter and the failure
to get close enough for a game-winning field goal at the end.

“We have to be honest with ourselves when we look at the film,” Smith said. “It is not something we can just dismiss and move
on.”

The 49ers were without standout inside linebacker
Patrick Willis
, who missed the second game of his career, because of a right hamstring injury.

On Arizona’s possession following Gore’s big run, Fitzgerald went over the middle and outjumped safety
Dashon Goldson
for the ball, then ran the remaining 20 yards for the score to cut the lead to 19-14 with 9:04 left in the third quarter.

On the play, Fitzgerald passed 1,000 yards for the season for the sixth time in his eight years in the NFL, the last five
in a row.

Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, Fitzgerald took a pass over the middle and ran to the San Francisco 20, a 53-yard
play. On third-and-2 from the 12, Skelton threw a screen pass to Doucet for a 9-yard gain to the 3. Skelton threw to Roberts
on the next play, and the receiver crossed the goal line for the touchdown that gave the Cardinals the lead, 21-19, with 11:50
remaining.

Kolb, in his second start after missing four games with a right turf toe and bruise on the side of his same foot, was hurt
when he faded to pass and was hit by
Justin Smith
as he threw. It was one of two forced fumbles and two sacks for Smith.

San Francisco got the ball on its 43 and, in an 11-play drive that managed 15 yards thanks to three sacks and a couple of
penalties, Akers’ 46-yard field goal made it 3-0.

San Francisco pinned Arizona deep again, and Ted Ginn Jr.’s 52-yard punt return put the 49ers on the Cardinals 4. But Arizona’s
defense, strong all day, held and Akers’ 22-yarder put the 49ers ahead 6-0 with 14:02 left in the half.

Then came the oddest moments of the afternoon.

On third-and-7, Skelton scrambled for a first down but, on a hit by Smith, fumbled the ball and San Francisco recovered at
its 47. The 49ers moved to the Arizona 40, where Akers lined up for a 50-yard field goal attempt. But it was a fake, with
holder
Andy Lee
tossing to backup center
Jonathan Goodwin
, lined up as a tight end, for the apparent score.

The whistle blew mid-play, though, with Arizona challenging the previous play, a pass from
Alex Smith
to
Kyle Williams
. But the replay system wasn’t working, and the play was repeated. This time, Akers’ 50-yard attempt was wide right, his first
miss from 50 and beyond in seven tries this season.

The next play, Skelton threw over the middle to Doucet, and with the help of Fitzgerald’s block, he raced 60 yards for the
score and Arizona led 7-6 with 7:10 left in the half.

“It ended up being a 14-point swing when you look at it,” San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said. “What the officials said
was they challenged the play before we faked the field goal.”

The 49ers responded with a 10-play, 69-yard drive, but again stalled deep in Arizona territory. Akers’ 27-yard field goal
put the 49ers back on top 9-7 with 1:58 to play.

Notes: Fitzgerald is the eighth player in NFL history to top 1,000 yards receiving in six of his first eight seasons. …
For the second week in a row, all five Arizona sacks were by different players. … Goldson left the game with a hip injury
on the play Fitzgerald scored. … San Francisco lost starting left
Joe Staley
in the first quarter with a head injury.

© 2011 STATS LLC

A week after clinching the NFC West title, the San Francisco 49ers had trouble holding off the Arizona Cardinals’ second-half rally.

The 49ers blew a 12-point second-half lead and lost to the Arizona Cardinals 21-19, just their third defeat of the season and first against a team that currently has a losing record.

The loss dropped San Francisco (10-3) into a tie with New Orleans for the second-best record in the conference. The top two teams earn a first-round bye.

“We have to be honest with ourselves when we look at the film,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “It is not something we can just dismiss and move on. We are into December now and we have to continue to get better. We just can’t dismiss this. “

John Skelton stepped in for the injured Kevin Kolb and threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns for Arizona (6-7).

Larry Fitzgerald had seven catches for 149 yards, including a 46-yarder for a touchdown and a 53-yarder to set up the go-ahead score. He also had a vicious block that helped free Early Doucet on a 60-yard touchdown reception.

“That’s Fitz being Fitz,” Skelton said.

Arizona has won five of six, with the only loss being at San Francisco on Oct. 20.

Kolb left the game after a blow to the head on Arizona’s third play. Skelton, benched after throwing three interceptions in the Cardinals’ 23-7 loss at San Francisco on Nov. 20, had a 60-yard TD pass to Doucet and a 3-yard toss to Andre Roberts for what proved to be the winning score early in the fourth quarter.

Skelton was able to overcome two interceptions and a lost fumble on Sunday.

San Francisco had the ball inside the Arizona 10-yard three times in the second quarter and came away with only field goals. They also had the ball third-and-1, then fourth-and-1, at the San Francisco 41 with about two minutes to go.

In both cases, passes fell incomplete, the last one after Smith scrambled all over half the field before throwing.

“If you score touchdowns down there, a different game,” Smith said. “The end of the game was disappointing as well. Having a chance to win it and don’t get it done.”

Arizona sacked Smith five times after getting five against Dallas in its 19-13 overtime win over the Cowboys a week earlier. The loss ended a five-game 49ers winning streak in the series.

“I thought we were in position to win this football game really at all times during the game,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We didn’t get it done and we are disappointed about that. We look forward to seeing how our team responds to some adversity. We haven’t had a lot of it this year.”

Frank Gore rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries for the NFC West champion 49ers, including a 37-yard touchdown run that put San Francisco ahead 19-7 early in the second half. He broke 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth time in his career, but didn’t do much damage after that.

Smith completed 18 of 37 for 175 yards and no TDs.

The 49ers were without standout inside linebacker Patrick Willis, who missed the second game of his career, because of a right hamstring injury.

Still, the 49ers’ defensive players felt they had failed in areas where they had succeeded almost always this year.

“As a secondary, we felt like it was really on our shoulders and we lost this football game collectively,” safety Donte Whitner said. “It doesn’t matter what the offense does, if they can’t get it in, all we need are field goals. We felt like we let the team down and we’re going to go back to the drawing board and we’ll be ready.”

Kolb, in his second start after missing four games with a right turf toe and bruise on the side of his same foot, was hurt when he faded to pass and was hit by Justin Smith as he threw. It was one of two forced fumbles and two sacks for Smith.

The oddest moments of the game came in the second quarter with San Francisco leading 6-0.

On third-and-7, Skelton scrambled for a first down but, on a hit by Smith, fumbled the ball and San Francisco recovered at its 47. The 49ers moved to the Arizona 40, where Akers lined up for a 50-yard field goal attempt. But it was a fake, with holder Andy Lee tossing to backup center Jonathan Goodwin, lined up as a tight end, for the apparent score.

The whistle blew mid-play, though, with Arizona challenging the previous play, a pass from Alex Smith to Kyle Williams. But the replay system wasn’t working, and the play had to be repeated. This time, Akers’ 50-yard attempt was wide right, his first miss from 50 and beyond in seven tries this season.

The next play, Skelton threw over the middle to Doucet, and with the help of Fitzgerald’s block, he raced 60 yards for the score and Arizona led 7-6 with 7:10 left in the half.

The 49ers responded with a 10-play, 69-yard drive, but again stalled deep in Arizona territory. Akers’ 27-yard field goal put the 49ers back on top 9-7 with 1:58 to play.

Notes: Fitzgerald is the eighth player in NFL history to top 1,000 yards receiving in six of his first eight seasons. … For the second week in a row, all five Arizona sacks were by different players. … Dashon Goldson left the game with a hip injury on the play Fitzgerald scored. … San Francisco lost starting left Joe Staley in the first quarter with a head injury.