Patriots win AFC East showdown

FOXBORO, Mass. -- The game was over and the victorious New England Patriots wouldn't leave the field.

The Patriots had just beaten the Miami Dolphins 20-13 Saturday, overtaking them for the AFC East lead and adding another wonderful memory to the collection at Foxboro Stadium, which will be demolished after the season.

Players took a 10-minute victory lap, slapping hands with smiling fans who could be in those same seats for a playoff game in three weeks.

"It'll be 10 minutes I won't ever forget for the rest of my life," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said.

Antowain Smith, who rushed for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown, absorbed more hard hits as he circled the edge of the field, "trying not to get pulled into the stands," he said.

"But it felt great to be out there," Smith said, "for the fans who stayed with us all year long."

Next year, fans will flock to adjacent CMGi Field, still under construction. Foxboro Stadium will get the wrecking ball two days after its last game.

The Patriots (10-5) have won nine of 11 games after going 5-11 last year. They have a bye next weekend, and can extend their winning streak to six games in their season finale against Carolina (1-12). A win, combined with one more loss by the New York Jets, would give the Patriots the AFC East title and a home playoff game.

"It was a very emotional day," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

The Dolphins (9-5), who have home games against Atlanta and Buffalo left, scored a total of just one touchdown in losing their last two games.

"We may make the playoffs but if we're playing like this, we'll get knocked out in the first round," linebacker Zach Thomas said. "We lacked zip and energy. We're going through the motions."

The Patriots' defense stretched to 14 quarters its streak of not allowing a touchdown before Jay Fiedler threw a 10-yarder to Jeff Ogden with 1:28 left to finish the scoring.

Miami held Tom Brady to 117 yards passing. But he threw a 23-yard touchdown to Patrick Pass and caught a 23-yard pass from running back Kevin Faulk that set up Smith's 2-yard run and a 14-0 lead.

"I think Tom was more excited than me," Faulk said. "Coming out of my hands it felt like a jump shot. I knew it was there."

The Patriots scored all their points in the second quarter as Adam Vinatieri added field goals of 32 and 23 yards. Miami's Olindo Mare followed with two from 36 yards to cut the lead to 20-6 with 13:41 left in the game.

New England can clinch its first playoff berth in three years if the Jets, Baltimore or Seattle loses today or if Seattle ties. If the Patriots, Dolphins and Jets finish with identical records, the Jets win the division.

The Dolphins, who beat the Patriots 30-10 in the fourth game of the season, can't clinch a playoff spot this weekend.

"They ran the ball on us. They controlled the clock," Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. "They controlled the tempo of the game."

49ERS 13, EAGLES 3

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a game of missed chances, the San Francisco 49ers knew exactly when to cash in.

Derek Smith made two exceptional defensive plays, and Terrell Owens caught a 32-yard touchdown pass with 6:52 left as the 49ers beat Philadelphia, the Eagles' first road loss of the season.

Playing for little more than playoff position, the 49ers (11-3) got yet another sparkling performance from a young defense led by Smith, their hard-hitting linebacker.

Later, Garcia and Owens broke San Francisco's offense out of its doldrums with a scoring strike that clinched the game. With a handful of big plays, the 49ers finished their home schedule 7-1.

The Eagles (9-5) could have wrapped up a playoff berth and their first NFC East title since 1988. Instead, Philadelphia got just three points from two trips inside San Francisco's 5.

-- From wire reports