JACKSONVILLE, FLA. ? One moment, the Tennessee Titans made the playoffs. The next, they won the division.

At this rate, there’s no telling how far the Titans might go in a season that seems to get better by the minute.

Eddie George ran for two scores and Steve McNair threw for another Sunday, helping the Titans embarrass Jacksonville, 28-10, a loss that could send Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin one step closer to unemployment.

With their ninth win in 10 games, the Titans (10-5) became the first team in the jumbled AFC to wrap up a playoff spot. A few minutes later, the Giants closed out a 44-27 win over the Colts, which made Tennessee the first champion of the new AFC South.

There was a muted celebration afterward — the sign of a team that knows it could be playing for much more than just a division title this season.

“It’s what we expected to do at the beginning of the season, and obviously, we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.

The Jaguars (6-9) were guaranteed their third straight losing season, and Coughlin was booed frequently before a paltry crowd of 51,033 in the last home game of the season.

Only a garbage touchdown with 8 seconds left prevented Jacksonville’s most lopsided loss at home. A biplane that flew over the stadium summed up the mood of the city with the message it carried that read, simply, “Coughlin?”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s the head coach or someone else is the head coach,” Jaguars cornerback Fernando Bryant said. “Tennessee is Tennessee. They beat us, and it wasn’t because the stands were half full or anything else.”

Indeed, coaching and crowd noise weren’t nearly enough for Jacksonville to overcome the obvious talent disparity on the field. Of course, Coughlin, who doubles as a personnel man, is ultimately responsible for his team’s talent shortcomings, too.

“It’s frustrating to have a team playing its best football of the year come in here and not be able to compete with them,” Coughlin said.

Tennessee defensive end Javon Kearse (90) sacks Jacksonville's Mark Brunell. The Titans won the AFC South with a 28-10 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Titans, as they usually do, pushed the Jaguars around on both sides of the ball. George ran for 89 yards on 21 carries. Playing with sore ribs and an achy lower back, McNair ran for a season-high 58 yards, threw for 115 more and hit Derrick Mason for a five-yard score early in the fourth quarter for a 28-3 lead.

Tennessee outgained Jacksonville 298-214, held the ball for 11 more minutes and recorded four sacks, including two by Jevon Kearse. In all, it was hard to believe this was the team that didn’t send a single player to the Pro Bowl.

“I think we’ve been playing with a chip on our shoulder the whole year,” linebacker Keith Bulluck said. “For this team to be one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and for no one to go to represent Tennessee in Honolulu is absurd. People are just going to have to feel the wrath.”

In the third quarter, Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell pulled up lame with a hamstring strain. With that, the three players Jacksonville depended on to make plays this year — Brunell, Jimmy Smith and Fred Taylor — had all missed portions of the game with injuries.

Not that they were great to begin with. Brunell left with 114 yards passing, Taylor (ankle) ran for 17 yards and Smith (shoulder) had three catches for 14 yards.

Just before he left, Brunell was under pressure and threw a floater to the middle of the field. Peter Sirmon stepped in for the pick and returned it untouched for a 21-3 lead.

Tennessee began the season 1-4, including a dispiriting 52-25 loss to the Raiders. But Fisher kept his team together and the Titans began their hot streak Oct. 13 with a 23-14 victory over — who else? — Jacksonville.

“Words can’t describe how I feel right now,” Titans cornerback Samari Rolle said. “It means a lot, especially after the 1-4 start.”

The Titans are 7-2 against the Jaguars since 1999, the season they won all three meetings against Jacksonville en route to the Super Bowl.

And while Tennessee has a good shot to return, the Jaguars have never been the same. Coughlin is 19-28 over the last three seasons and this may have been the most disheartening of all those losses.

“Only one man will really decide what happens with everything,” Brunell said, speaking of owner Wayne Weaver. “And we’ll see what happens.”

Giants 44, Colts 27

Indianapolis — Kerry Collins threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns, three to Amani Toomer, as the Giants won their third straight. If the Giants (9-6) beat Philadelphia next Saturday they get a wild-card spot.

The Giants led 10-3 at the half, then scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half. On the first play of the third quarter, Collins hit Toomer on an 82-yard flea-flicker. Toomer had 10 catches for 204 yards, while tight end Jeremy Shockey had seven catches for 116 yards.

Peyton Manning was 30-of-46 for 365 yards for Indianapolis (9-6), which almost certainly must win next week against Jacksonville to secure a wild-card spot. Manning became the first passer in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in four consecutive seasons.

Raiders 28, Broncos 16

Oakland, Calif. — Rich Gannon set the NFL single-season record for completions and passed for 201 yards as the Raiders surged into the playoffs, clinching their third straight division title.

After scoring on its first three possessions, Oakland (10-5) weathered a strong second-half comeback led by backup Steve Beuerlein, who passed for 234 yards after relieving an injured and ineffective Brian Griese for Denver (8-7).

Gannon broke Warren Moon’s 11-year-old record for completions in the second quarter on a five-yard pass to Charlie Garner. His 405th completion surpassed the mark set in 1991 by Moon, who was at the game as a radio commentator. Gannon has 411 completions this season.

Bengals 20, Saints 13

Cincinnati — Nick Luchey’s three-yard touchdown run with 1:46 to play gave Cincinnati its second victory.

The Bengals (2-13) hadn’t won at home this year. Playing in a half-empty stadium, they fell behind 13-7. But Luchey, who changed his name from Nick Williams in September and hadn’t carried the ball all season, scored on a one-yard run with 10:42 left. The extra point was blocked, though, leaving the game tied at 13. Luchey was filling in for Corey Dillon, who bruised his left elbow in the third quarter.

The 6-foot-2, 265-pound Luchey carried eight times for 42 yards and caught one pass on the winning drive.

Falcons 36, Lions 15

Atlanta — Quentin McCord, signed off the practice squad earlier this season, caught seven passes for 182 yards and scored the first touchdown of his career as Atlanta moved to the front of the three-team battle for two NFC wild-card spots.

The Falcons (9-5-1) can make the postseason for the first time since 1998 with a victory at Cleveland next Sunday.

Falcons’ quarterback Michael Vick threw for a career-high 338 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to McCord and a late 44-yarder to Brian Finneran. Jay Feely had five field goals as the Falcons ran up 533 yards of offense.

Mike McMahon, filling in for ailing Joey Harrington, completed 11-of-33 passes for 149 yards and was intercepted three times for Detroit (3-12).

Browns 14, Ravens 13

Baltimore — Forced to cover 92 yards in just over two minutes, the Cleveland Browns came up with another amazing finish to keep alive their playoff hopes. As a bonus, the Browns practically eliminated their most-hated rivals in the process.

Tim Couch capped a frantic drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Mark Campbell with 29 seconds left, and Phil Dawson’s conversion gave Cleveland victory.

After taking over on their 8 with 2:18 remaining, the Browns (8-7) needed eight plays to reach the end zone. The key play came when Couch connected with Jamel White with a 28-yard pass, and a late hit penalty on Chris McAlister moved the ball to the 13.

Three plays later, Couch hit a wide-open Campbell to doom the Ravens (7-8), who were vying to get over .500 for the first time this season.

Packers 10, Bills 0

Green Bay, Wis. — Vonnie Holliday sacked Drew Bledsoe five times, forcing fumbles on three, as two foul-weather teams played a foul-weather game.

Holliday’s first forced fumble led to Green Bay’s only touchdown and his last ended Buffalo’s hopes with 1:13 left.

The Packers (12-3) are the only NFL team to win all their home games this season, but they’ll need losses by Philadelphia and Tampa Bay to get anything more than a first-round playoff game at Lambeau Field, where they’ve never lost in the postseason.

Swirling 25 mph winds gusted to 30 mph and kept both offenses in check.

Redskins 26, Texans 10

Landover, Md. — Patrick Ramsey threw two touchdown passes as the Redskins (6-9) broke a three-game losing streak.

Rookie Ladell Betts had 20 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown and first-year player Kenny Watson had 20 carries for 110 yards filling in for Stephen Davis.

David Carr of Houston (4-11) was sacked an NFL-record 73rd time this season when Bruce Smith took him down late in the fourth quarter. It was Washington’s third sack of the game and the second by Smith.

Panthers 24, Bears 14

Charlotte, N.C. — Carolina, 0-8 at home during last year’s 1-15 season, improved to .500 at Ericsson Stadium by turning a rash of Chicago fumbles into a victory.

Chicago (4-11) lost its seventh straight road game, extending a season-long slide from last year’s 13-3 record and the NFC Central title.

Dee Brown scored two touchdowns for Carolina and Rodney Peete threw for another to lead the Panthers (6-9).

Seahawks 30, Rams 10

Seattle — Matt Hasselbeck threw for 303 yards and one touchdown, and Seattle’s porous run defense tightened against Marshall Faulk.

Hasselbeck completed 20 of 32 passes without an interception, his third 300-yard passing game since replacing the injured Trent Dilfer eight weeks ago. Seattle (6-9) is 5-4 since then and won for the second straight week.

Marc Bulger, 6-0 as the Rams’ starting quarterback entering the game, wasn’t around for long. He injured his back on the team’s fourth play from scrimmage and didn’t return as the Rams fell to 6-9). Faulk, who played despite a high ankle sprain that has slowed him the past six weeks, ran nine times for 13 yards.

Jets 30, Patriots 17

Foxboro, Mass. — Chad Pennington threw three touchdown passes as the Jets avoided playoff elimination and improved to 7-4 since he became the starter.

New England had cut a 17-10 halftime deficit to 20-17 before the Jets took over at their 25-yard line. Pennington led a 75-yard drive that iced the game on his 15-yard scoring pass to Wayne Chrebet with 8:45 left in the game.

If New York (8-7) beats Green Bay and New England beats Miami next weekend, the Jets will win the AFC East with a better division record than the Dolphins and a better record against common opponents than the Patriots.