SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco 49ers followed Joe Nedney's game-ending field goal with an even bigger bang, swiftly confirming that coach Mike Singletary will be back next year.

Nedney kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired, and the 49ers dramatically finished their late-season surge under their no-longer-interim coach with a 27-24 victory over the Washington Redskins today.

A few minutes after Nedney's kick sneaked inside the upright to cap a cool 60-second drive led by Shaun Hill, the 49ers officially announced Singletary will keep his job. San Francisco won five of its final seven games and went 5-4 overall under Singletary, the Hall of Fame linebacker who took over for Mike Nolan on Oct. 20.

Hill passed for 245 yards and drove the 49ers (7-9) 51 yards in the waning seconds, hitting Michael Robinson and Bryant Johnson with long passes before Nedney won it with his second field goal of the final minutes.

Hill, whose promotion by Singletary clearly sparked the 49ers' second-half surge, went 21-for-30, rushed for an early score and threw a TD pass while remaining unbeaten in five games as a starter at Candlestick Park.

Washington (8-8), which finished coach Jim Zorn's rookie year with four losses in five games, tied it with 1:09 to play on Shaun Suisham's extra point after a 3-yard TD run on fourth down by Jason Campbell, who led an impressive 55-yard drive — but left too much time for Hill.

Campbell passed for 156 yards and Clinton Portis rushed for 80 and a score for the Redskins, who finished in last place in the NFC East after a 6-2 start. Antwaan Randle El caught a TD pass, but Washington's defense yielded 20 points in the second half.

Zorn could have been the first Washington rookie coach since George Allen in 1971 to finish with a winning record, but not much went right for the Redskins in the second half of the season. Zorn's job is safe, according to top executive Vinny Cerrato, but other changes could be in store for his veteran-laden club.

The back-and-forth game was more entertaining than many expected from two NFC clubs out of playoff contention. San Francisco went ahead 21-17 when Jason Hill scored on a 9-yard catch early in the fourth quarter, capping an 80-yard drive.

Nedney added a 33-yard field goal with 5:06 left, but Campbell quickly moved the Washington offense forward, picking up 23 yards on a scramble to the 10 right before the 2-minute warning. On fourth down from the 3, Campbell dropped back, but quickly slid through the middle to stretch the ball over the goal line for his first rushing touchdown of the season.

Frank Gore returned from a two-game injury absence to rush for 58 yards, wrapping up his franchise-record third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. DeShaun Foster played most of the game for his hobbled teammate, picking up 44 yards and a score.

With the 49ers in their cherry-red-and-gold throwback uniforms, Hill capped their opening drive with a 2-yard scoring run, flipping the ball to left guard David Baas for the celebratory spike. Washington replied with Portis' 4-yard TD run early in the second quarter, and Carlos Rogers' interception set up a field goal moments later.

Randle El's 6-yard TD catch 26 seconds before halftime capped a 16-play drive consuming more than nine minutes. But after Portis fumbled on Washington's next drive, Foster cut the lead to 17-14 with a 1-yard TD lean.