JACKSONVILLE, FLA. ? The New England Patriots left Jacksonville with more championship shirts and hats.

It wasn’t the Super Bowl kind, but they’ll gladly wear them – at least for now.

Tom Brady directed three long touchdown drives, capped one of them with a perfect touch pass to David Thomas, and helped the Patriots clinch their fourth consecutive AFC East crown with a 24-21 victory against the Jaguars on a rainy Sunday.

They did it on the same field they won their last Super Bowl, in January 2005.

“We’ve accomplished something now,” said linebacker Tedy Bruschi while he donned a championship hat and T-shirt. “It’s our first goal. We can look at it as a positive for the next couple of days. The first thing you have to do is to win the division and then go from there.”

Brady was brilliant in both games at Alltel Stadium.

He was 23-of-33 for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl victory against Philadelphia. He was even better against the Jaguars (8-7).

He finished 28-of-39 for 249 yards and a touchdown, completing passes to 10 receivers and picking apart the NFL’s second-ranked defense mostly with short and quick throws. He also ran 10 times for 31 yards, getting several first downs on sneaks and scrambling for yards to avoid sacks.

“He’s a great leader,” offensive tackle Matt Light said. “He went out there and did what he always does. Whenever we needed a big play he’s always out there making them.”

Brady and the Patriots (11-4) also crippled Jacksonville’s postseason chances. The Jaguars, who have lost two in a row, need to win at Kansas City next week and get lots of help to earn a wild-card spot.

“We had two weeks with the chance to handle it ourselves and we didn’t get it done,” defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said. “If we get into the playoffs, so be it. If we don’t, we can’t blame nobody but ourselves.”

New England Patriots running back Laurence Maroney, right, is congratulated by teammate Nick Kaczur after scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Patriots beat the Jaguars, 24-21, Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla., to clinch the AFC East.

The Jaguars made the playoffs last season, but promptly lost 28-3 at New England. That game was decided early in the second half when the Pats scored 21 unanswered points.

New England put Jacksonville away much later Sunday.

Laurence Maroney, who missed the last two games with torn rib cartilage, had a 27-yard touchdown run with 4:36 remaining to put the Patriots ahead 24-14.

But Jacksonville answered when David Garrard hooked up with Matt Jones for a 33-yard score about a minute later. The defense then forced its first three-and-out, giving the offense the ball near midfield with 1:55 to play. Garrard, though, scrambled out of the pocket and fumbled after getting hit by Jarvis Green.

Rodney Harrison, back after missing six weeks with a broken shoulder blade, recovered to seal the victory.

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio thought Garrard’s arm was moving forward and it should have been an incomplete pass. Officials reviewed the play and upheld the call.

“For the most part I played pretty decent, but to have the last drive come out the way it did, it hurts,” said Garrard, who now has nine turnovers in the team’s last four losses, including three that got returned for touchdowns last week at Tennessee. “I have to do a better job of not having the turnovers.”

Or maybe watch and learn from Brady.

Throwing often because of Jacksonville’s stout run defense, Brady engineered a 78-yard to open the second half. He was 4-for-5 for 68 yards and his best throw was his last, a 22-yarder over the middle that Thomas caught as he dived across the goal line, making it 17-7.

Texans 27, Colts 24

Houston – Ron Dayne had a career-high 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Kris Brown kicked the winning 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving Houston its first win over Indianapolis.

The loss denied the AFC South champions the chance to clinch a first-round playoff bye.

It was the first time Dayne had gained 100 yards since September 2001 with the Giants.

The Texans (5-10) used Dayne and rookie Chris Taylor to eat up the clock and exploit the Colts’ suspect run defense, ranked last in the NFL, and broke a nine-game losing streak to Indianapolis (11-4).

Dayne had 429 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the past four games.

Houston led through most of the game, until Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison connected for their second touchdown, this one a 7-yard pass that tied it 24-24 with 2:41 remaining.

Ravens 31, Steelers 7

Pittsburgh – Steve McNair threw three touchdown passes and Baltimore moved ahead in the race for a first-round AFC playoffs bye. They shut down Pittsburgh for the second time in a month and eliminated the defending Super Bowl champions from playoff contention.

The Ravens (12-3) matched a franchise record for victories in a season set by their Super Bowl championship team in 2000 and swept the season series from the despised Steelers (7-8) for the first time since the former Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. They also won in Heinz Field for the first time since their initial game there in 2001.

Titans 30, Bills 29

Orchard Park, N.Y. – Vince Young threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another, keeping Tennessee’s playoff hopes alive with a win over Buffalo.

Young also engineered his fourth comeback in the fourth quarter or overtime, rallying Tennessee from a 29-20 deficit. After hitting Brandon Jones for a 29-yard touchdown pass, Young engineered a 14-play, 75-yard drive, which Rob Bironas capped with a 30-yard field goal with 2:10 left.

The Titans (8-7), who have won six straight, close their season hosting New England. While they need help, they’re still in the running to become the first NFL team to qualify for the playoffs after an 0-5 start.

The Bills (7-8) had their postseason hopes end as they were unable to complete a last-minute scoring drive.

Panthers 10, Falcons 3

Atlanta – Carolina snapped a four-game losing streak and all but ended Atlanta’s playoff hopes by shutting down the NFL’s top running attack.

The Falcons, who lead the league with 193 yards rushing per game, were outrushed 183-83 by a balanced Carolina attack that helped fill-in quarterback Chris Weinke snap a 17-game losing streak as a starter.

Saints 30, Giants 7

East Rutherford, N.J. – Reggie Bush ran for a career-best 126 yards and a touchdown, and New Orleans limited New York to six first downs and 142 yards.

The Saints (10-5) can clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a bye if Dallas losses either of its final two games or with a home win next week against Carolina.

Unbelievably, the Giants (7-8), who didn’t have a snap in Saints’ territory, remain in the playoff hunt despite losing for the sixth time in seven games. The sellout crowd was so upset with the performance that twice it chanted “Fire Coughlin” toward coach Tom Coughlin before heading for the exits.

Rams 37, Redskins 31, OT

St. Louis – Steven Jackson wrapped up a big day with a 21-yard touchdown run in overtime and Marc Bulger tied his career best with four touchdown passes in a victory over Washington.

The Rams (7-8) rallied on the day the team’s 95-game streak of regular-season sellouts ended. The franchise also had five playoff sellouts during the run that began in 1995 when it moved from Los Angeles, and it ended with an attendance of 62,324 – more than 3,000 shy of capacity.

St. Louis has won two straight after losing seven of eight, keeping alive faint playoff hopes.

Ladell Betts tied a franchise record with his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game for the Redskins (5-10), and topped 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career.

Bears 26, Lions 21

Detroit – Backup quarterback Brian Griese directed a 72-yard drive that set up Robbie Gould’s field goal midway through the fourth quarter, helping Chicago beat Detroit.

Gould’s fourth field goal – after Jon Kitna made his NFL-high 30th turnover – gave Chicago a six-point cushion with 2:50 to go after to end a drive that starting QB Rex Grossman watched from the sideline.

With a chance for a winning touchdown, the Lions drove to the Chicago 22. Kitna threw a pass into the end zone on the final play that leaping wide receiver Mike Williams got his hands on, but couldn’t control.

Buccaneers 22, Browns 7

Cleveland – Derrick Brooks returned one of Tampa Bay’s four interceptions 21 yards for a touchdown and Tampa Bay won its first road game in more than a year.

The Buccaneers (4-11) had lost eight straight outside Florida since winning at Carolina on Dec. 11 last season. But they had little trouble with the Browns (4-11), who lost their third straight, managed just 187 yards of offense and were taunted by their own fans.

Cleveland avoided being shut out for the second straight year on Dec. 24 when cornerback Daven Holly returned a fumble 40 yards for a TD with 11:33 left.

Broncos 24, Bengals 23

Denver – Cincinnati lost on a snowy day when Brad St. Louis’ long snap on an extra point in the final minute sailed wide of holder Kyle Larson.

That was enough to hand a win to Denver (9-6), which can clinch a playoff spot with a win next week against San Francisco.

Needing only to beat the Broncos to get into the postseason, the Bengals (8-7) drove 90 yards in 12 plays, with Carson Palmer tossing a 10-yard touchdown strike to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 46 seconds left.

Cardinals 26, 49ers 20

San Francisco – Matt Leinart passed for 162 yards before spraining his left shoulder in the first half, and Kurt Warner finished up with 105 yards passing in Arizona’s fourth victory in six games that eliminated San Francisco from postseason contention.

Edgerrin James had 105 yards to become Arizona’s first 1,000-yard rusher in eight years, and Marcel Shipp ran for a score as the Cardinals (5-10) jumped to an early 20-3 lead, then held on for their fourth straight win over the 49ers (6-9).

Chargers 20, Seahawks 17

Seattle – Philip Rivers, who missed on 22 of his first 28 passes, found Vincent Jackson alone in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds left to lift San Diego over stunned Seattle.

But Arizona’s upset at San Francisco minutes earlier meant Seattle (8-7) clinched its third consecutive NFC West title despite its third straight loss.

San Diego (13-2), the AFC West champion, clinched a first-round bye and will need to beat the Cardinals to ensure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.