--WR Davone Bess returned three punts for a 17.3-yard average, including a career-best 27-yarder. He also had three catches for 25 yards. He has 42 catches for the season, leaving him tied him with former Colts WR Terrence Wilkins as the second-most prolific undrafted rookie receiver. The record is 66, set by the Jets' Wayne Chrebet in 1995.

--FB Lousaka Polite had a 3-yard gain on a third-and-1 in the first quarter and is now 7-for-7 when he has carried the ball on either a third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 this season. However, offensive coordinator Dan Henning called for Ricky Williams on a third-and-1 on the first series of the second half, and Williams was stopped for no gain.

--QB Chad Pennington notched a 124.0 passer rating, the sixth time he has gone over 100 this season.

--TE Joey Haynos and TE David Martin caught TD passes, the second time this season that two Dolphins tight ends have done so. Martin and Anthony Fasano had TD catches in the season-opening loss to the Jets. Haynos is the first Dolphin to have a TD reception on his first NFL catch since WR Oronde Gadsden hauled in a 44-yard TD pass from Hall of Famer Dan Marino in the 1998 opener at Indianapolis.

--OL Al Johnson took eight snaps at center Sunday with second-year C Samson Satele moving to right guard. Coach Tony Sparano said he hoped to get Johnson more action but the Dolphins offense was rarely on the field Sunday.

REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS

PASSING OFFENSE: B -- QB Chad Pennington played his usual intelligent game with no mistakes. He completed 12 of 19 for 156 yards with two touchdown passes and a 124.0 passer rating. But he was just 1-for-7 on third downs and was hurt by several drops by Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown and Ted Ginn Jr. His perfectly thrown pass to TE David Martin on the first series was good for a 61-yard TD and enabled the Dolphins to play a conservative field-position game in the first half. He added a TD pass to rookie TE Joey Haynos in the second quarter.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B-minus -- Williams and Brown only had a combined 17 carries as the game plan called for passes early. Miami averaged a healthy 4.5 yards per carry but only gained 97 yards, with Brown contributing 67 of those. He did have a huge 16-yard run out of the only Wildcat formation used by Miami during the fourth-quarter drive that allowed the worn-out defense to recharge its batteries for the final stand.

PASS DEFENSE: C -- Although they didn't allow any touchdowns, the defensive backs allowed far too many completions (30) and first downs off passes (16) by QB Shaun Hill. CB Will Allen repeatedly slipped, allowing WR Isaac Bruce to have a solid game with seven catches for 71 yards. In the red zone, the linebackers and safeties, particularly Channing Crowder and Renaldo Hill, made key pass breakups.

RUSH DEFENSE: C -- Elite RB Frank Gore was absent, but his replacement, DeShaun Foster, gained 76 yards on 18 carries, and San Francisco had 112 rushing yards on 4.1 yards per carry. That's too many, but Hill, Crowder, Akin Ayodele and Yeremiah Bell held the fort when they had to. That quartet combined for 36 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus -- The kick coverage units that were so poor for the first 10 games of the season have tightened up. They didn't allow a return longer than 11 yards Sunday. Rookie K Dan Carpenter knocked a critical 49-yarder off the crossbar in the fourth quarter, but his defense bailed him out. P Brandon Fields has steadily improved, and he placed three more inside the 20 to tilt the field-position battle in Miami's favor.

COACHING: B -- Once again Miami scored on its opening, scripted first series, a tribute to the coaching staff's game plan. And again, the Dolphins defense, under coordinator Paul Pasqualoni, rose to the occasion. He continues to put unheralded players in positions to make game-saving plays, as with CB Nate Jones' two sacks and OLB Charlie Anderson's second sack in two weeks. Winning ugly is a plus, not a minus.