Third-string quarterback Hill leads Niners past Bengals

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Third-string quarterback Shaun Hill led the San Francisco 49ers to a 20-13 home victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in his first NFL start on Saturday.

With Alex Smith and Trent Dilfer injured, Hill threw for 197 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in leading the Niners to their first home win since the opening week of the season.

The win improved San Francisco's record to 4-10. The Bengals fell to 5-9.

Frank Gore ran for a season-high 138 yards and Darnell Jackson caught a season-best eight passes for 86 yards. Hill is a six-year veteran who did not throw a pass in the NFL before coming on last week to replace Dilfer.

Hill was 21-for-28 passing on Saturday.

Cincinnati's Carson Palmer threw the 100th touchdown pass of his career, a 52-yarder to Chris Henry, making him the fifth-fastest quarterback to reach the 100-TD pass plateau. Palmer's bid to take the Bengals to a tying score in the final minutes came up short as Chad Johnson failed to hold on to what would have been a tough catch in the end zone with 2:14 left in the game.

(Writing by Mike Shalin; Editing by Ed Osmond)