FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes, three to Randy Moss, and the young defense put together its third consecutive solid game as New England beat Jacksonville 35-7 on Sunday, further dimming the Jaguars’ slim postseason chances.
The Patriots (10-5) clinched the AFC East title after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2002 despite an 11-5 record.
Brady bounced back after throwing for just 307 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in his previous two games. He completed 23-of-26 passes for 267 yards.
Jacksonville dropped its third straight game and fourth in its last five after starting out 6-4. New England won its third straight — outscoring the opposition 72-27 — after losing three of four.
Panthers 41, Giants 9
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Matt Moore threw three touchdown passes, Jonathan Stewart rushed for a career-best 206 yards and the Panthers (7-8) shredded New York’s defense with scores on six of their first seven possessions before a disgusted final sellout crowd.
Playing in front of Lawrence Taylor — possibly their greatest player — and knowing they still had a shot at a fifth straight playoff berth, the Giants (8-7) embarrassed themselves against the Panthers, a team with nothing at stake.
Texans 27, Dolphins 20
MIAMI — Houston raced to an early 27-point lead, then held on to remain in the AFC playoff scramble.
The Texans (8-7) scored on their first five possessions and won despite being outscored 20-0 in the final 31 minutes. Houston kept alive its slim hopes of making the playoffs for the first time, while defending AFC East champion Miami (7-8) was all but eliminated.
Cardinals 31, Rams 10
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kurt Warner threw for 196 of his 313 yards in the second quarter and the Cardinals beat the Rams for the seventh time in a row and reached 10 regular-season wins for the first time since 1976, 12 years before the franchise moved from St. Louis to Arizona.
49ers 20, Lions 6
SAN FRANCISCO — Frank Gore scored on a 1-yard run and topped the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth consecutive year. Alex Smith threw a touchdown pass to Vernon Davis, and the Niners (7-8) forced six turnovers to close out the home season with a victory.
Browns 23, Raiders 9
CLEVELAND — Jerome Harrison had 148 yards rushing and the Browns (4-11) won their third straight, their first three-game winning streak since 2007 and only their third since 1999.
The Raiders (5-10) committed 13 penalties for 126 yards, had two players ejected and failed for the fifth time this season to win two consecutive games.
Packers 48, Seahawks 10
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers (10-5) forced four interceptions by Matt Hasselbeck and are going back to the playoffs despite a 4-4 start.
Falcons 31, Bills 3
ATLANTA — The victory left the Falcons (8-7) in position to post back-to-back winning records for the first time in franchise history. The Falcons, in their 44th season and eliminated from the playoff chase last week, close at Tampa Bay.
