Western-Star.com

SAN FRANCISCO — Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer's goal was to win the game. But high on his agenda was feeding T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The seventh-year wide receiver entered Saturday night's game with a league-high 96 catches. He needed five more to break the club's single-season receptions record of 100 set by Carl Pickens in 1996.

"He can get five in the first half," Palmer said. "He can get five on third down in the first half, as much as he catches. He can get hot and just rattle off three or four passes in a row. So it's definitely within reach for him."

Houshmandzadeh made the record-setting catch in the fourth quarter.

"As big of a role as T.J. plays in this offense and has over the last three or four years, you can't ask him to do much more than he's done and make the plays that he's made."

First career start

Quarterback Shaun Hill made his first career NFL start for the 49ers on Saturday night, and here's why:

Alex Smith is recovering from surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his separated right shoulder. Smith's backup, Trent Dilfer, is also out after sustaining a concussion in a 27-7 loss to Minnesota last week.

Hill came off the bench for Dilfer against the Vikings and completed 22-of-27 passes for 181 yards, a TD, no interceptions and 106.9 passer rating.

"I'm real excited for him," Dilfer said. "He's been very patient. He's used opportunities where he's been able to learn and grow. He's a very good leader. The guys on the team responded to him this week. He's just playing football, and not getting caught up in being perfect."

Monster in the middle

San Francisco middle linebacker Patrick Willis isn't a tough guy to track. He leaves a path of destruction wherever he goes.

Willis, a 6-foot-1, 242 pounder from Ole Miss, was the 49ers' top pick (No. 11 overall) in the 2007 NFL draft.

He leads the team with 136 tackles, including 106 solos.

"That linebacker (Willis) is as good as it gets and he's only a rookie," Palmer said. "I was talking with (offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski) about him. He reminds you of Junior Seau back in the day when Brat was coaching Seattle and coaching against San Diego, and having to play against him.

"He's big enough to play the run. He chases down receivers from the back. He's a phenomenal player and he's going to be a phenomenal player in this league for a long time."

One tough customer

Bengals middle linebacker Landon Johnson has proved his toughness — again. He was back in the lineup Saturday after twice injuring his left ankle in last Sunday's 19-10 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Ageless warrior

Before Saturday's game, defensive end Bryant Young, a 14-year veteran from Notre Dame, led the Niners in sacks with 6.5. The Bengals' sacks leader was Robert Geathers with 2.5 — eight fewer than his team-high total of 10.5 in 2006.