SAN FRANCISCO — Lying under the pileup with his hands tucked around the ball, Joe Staley noticed the paint. All that color around him meant his fumble recovery was in the end zone.

So as the referees untangled the bodies, Staley plotted his touchdown celebration. The left tackle briefly considered a funky dance but ultimately decided to go with an old-school spike.

When the signal went up, Staley slammed the ball down.

Not everyone was impressed.

"Staley needed to show more emotion," said Vernon Davis, who specializes in emotion. "He threw it down too soft."

Other than that, there wasn't much to critique in the 49ers locker room. They toppled the New York Jets 24-14 at Candlestick Park on Sunday in a game that continued the team's remarkable turnaround under coach Mike Singletary.

Playing without top cornerback Nate Clements (broken thumb) and without running back Frank Gore (left ankle) for most of the second half, the 49ers nonetheless dominated the action.

Shaun Hill, who improved to 5-2 in his career as a starter, threw for more than twice as many yards (285-137) as his famous counterpart, Brett Favre.

Hill also threw for two touchdowns, including a 3-yarder to Bryant Johnson with about six minutes to play to ice the game. Favre had been 7-0 against the 49ers during the regular season, all with the Green Bay Packers.

"The (49ers) defense is playing well," Favre said. "They don't get a lot of credit, but they deserve more."

The 49ers converted 8-of-15 third-down chances while the Jets got just 1-of-10. The 49ers offense was on the field 39 minutes, 49 seconds to the Jets' 20:11.

As startling as the stats was the style. The 49ers flew to the ball on defense and pushed the Jets around on offense. Fiery 49ers players spent much of the day urging the Candlestick crowd to make more noise.

"We have a new attitude. With Coach Sing coming in, we make sure everybody is accountable," said cornerback Tarell Brown, who helped fill in for Clements. "Demanding a lot more from each other in practices has helped us out a lot."

For the second consecutive week, the 49ers (5-8) knocked off an AFC East title contender. And for the second consecutive week, they played harder and with more precision than a team in the playoff race. They also improved to 3-3 since Singletary took over as head coach. One of those losses should hardly count on his resume: He had less than a week to prepare for his debut against the Seattle Seahawks.

The 49ers did it this time behind an offense unafraid of running directly at the Jets' fourth-ranked rushing defense. They ran 33 times — led by sub DeShaun Foster's 16 attempts — and moved just enough to keep Favre off the field.

Twice the 49ers went for it on fourth-and-short near midfield. Twice they succeeded.

The first time came in the second quarter, when Gore went for 4 yards on what Staley said was a 70-power play. The second time came in the third quarter, when the 49ers had no play call at all. They simply lined up hoping to coax the Jets offside, and nose tackle Kris Jenkins obliged by moving early.

It was part of a long day for the Jets (8-5), who lost for the second consecutive time after a five-game winning streak.

"As soon as they started talking trash, that's when I knew they were getting mad," Davis said. "On one play, No. 92 (Shaun Ellis) just came after me and choked me. We knew they were getting frustrated."

Staley scored the 49ers' first touchdown when Jason Hill fumbled after a short reception near the goal line. Staley pounced on it immediately and kept holding on even as other players kept trying to pry the ball away — including his own teammates.

"They wanted credit for the touchdown," he said.

Instead, the left tackle had his first score since he was a freshman tight end at Central Michigan.

Favre and Thomas Jones later countered with touchdown runs for the Jets, as the score was tied 14-14 after three quarters.

Joe Nedney gave the 49ers the lead for good on a 32-yard field goal with 14:44 left in the game.

Usually, the late stage of a tight game is Favre's favorite time of day. He has 42 career victories when his team is tied or trailing in the fourth quarter.

Not this time. Favre's 137 yards marked the lowest total in eight career regular-season games against San Francisco. His 60.8 passer rating was his worst against the 49ers since the 59.1 he posted the first time he played them, on Oct. 14, 1996.

"I give a lot of credit to the 49ers," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "I think Mike's done a great job. They play hard. They play tough. We've seen it every single game they've played. You have to be able to match that."