MIAMI — The Miami Dolphins have improved so much, they hardly need the ball to win.
Miami had possession for less than 22 minutes Sunday but held the opposition without a touchdown for the third game in a row, helping its playoff chances by beating San Francisco 14-9.
The 49ers ran 79 plays to 42 for the Dolphins, but Miami tight ends scored the only touchdowns on first-half passes from Chad Pennington. He threw a 61-yarder to David Martin and a 19-yarder to rookie Joey Haynos, making the first reception of his career.
San Francisco (5-9) reached the Miami 21 before its final threat ended when Shaun Hill was sacked on fourth-and-10 by Joey Porter with 1:02 left.
The surprising Dolphins (9-5), who are in a three-way tie for the AFC East lead, won for the seventh time in eight games. They can earn their first playoff berth since 2001 by sweeping their final two games, which would be a remarkable achievement for a team that went 1-15 last year.
The Dolphins made only 11 first downs and converted just one third-down situation, but they had no turnovers and remain on pace to set an NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season.
