NFC WEST Hearst leads San Francisco to 31-24 victory over Seattle

The 49ers running back had a career high 31 carries, 124 yards and three touchdowns.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- After the busiest day of his NFL career, Garrison Hearst slumped against a wall in the San Francisco 49ers' interview room and gave silent thanks that he was finally talking about football again.
Hearst ran for 124 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, and Jimmy Williams returned a punt 89 yards for a score as the 49ers snapped their first two-game losing streak in two years with a 31-24 victory over Seattle on Sunday.
Until the Seahawks mounted a rally with two fourth-quarter scores and another drive that ended in an interception, this game belonged to Hearst. Kevan Barlow was out with a sprained knee, leaving Hearst to carry both halves of the load in their usual tailback tandem.
Finally focus on football
As the centerpiece of the 49ers' pounding victory against the NFL's worst rushing defense, Hearst handled his career-high 31 carries exceptionally well. He also was grateful to focus on football instead of the controversy caused by his anti-gay remarks earlier this season.
"More than anything, you get a chance to get into a rhythm," Hearst said. "You're out there the whole time, so if you make a mistake on a carry, you know the next time to not bounce outside, but rather stay inside of them. Just being in the game the whole time is a big difference."
On the way to his highest rushing total of the season, Hearst got a 5-yard TD and a pair of 1-yard scores as the 49ers (8-4) took a three-game lead in the NFC West, which they can win for the first time since 1997 with another victory and a loss by St. Louis (5-7) in the final four games.
Fourth quarter collapse
But it was hard to find anybody who was excited about division titles and playoff glory at Candlestick Park. The Niners were uniformly glum about their fourth-quarter collapse, which only ended when Matt Hasselbeck's pass was intercepted by Rashad Holman in San Francisco territory with 1:23 remaining.
"I want to see better things out of this offense," said Jeff Garcia, who passed for just 164 yards following two early interceptions. "We all want to be better. Today was frustrating, because I don't see the progress being made on a daily basis."
The Niners won the division rivals' first meeting since Terrell Owens' infamous pen-in-the-sock stunt seven weeks earlier in San Francisco's 28-21 win at Seattle. Owens caught five passes for 45 yards this time, never getting close to the end zone until the final minutes. None of the Seahawks took any revenge for his autograph celebration, either.