Patriots wrap up East again

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 perfectly thrown 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 this time.

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.

Brady and the Patriots (11-4) also crippled Jacksonville’s postseason chances. The Jaguars (8-7), 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.