Texans-49ers

When Joe Nedney booted an overtime field goal through a drizzle as miserable as these teams' records, everybody won something in the San Francisco 49ers' season finale against the Houston Texans.

The 49ers salvaged some pride with consecutive victories - and the Texans definitely won by losing soon-to-be-fired coach Dom Capers' final game, wrapping up the No. 1 draft pick and the chance to dream about Reggie Bush.

Mike Adams lateraled his second interception to Ben Emanuel for a 35-yard return in OT, and Nedney set off an unlikely celebration with a 33-yard field goal with 3:52 left to end the 49ers' 20-17 victory Sunday.

The kick also provoked a giant sigh of relief in Houston, as the Texans (2-14) narrowly avoided ruining the only solace left in their awful season. After the game, a person close to the organization told The Associated Press that Capers will be fired Monday to start an offseason of big changes - probably peaking with a red-white-and-blue jersey for Bush.

If Houston had won, the New Orleans Saints would have received the top pick and first dibs on Bush, the Heisman Trophy-winning tailback from USC who's widely expected to enter the draft.

``You heard the talk all week: 'Play well, but don't win,''' said Texans quarterback David Carr, sidelined in the first half with a right elbow injury. ``All that stuff was a little distracting at times. Maybe a lot of fans were glad I busted my elbow and Andre (Johnson) got hurt. There were some wild things about this football game.

``If we couldn't win them all, if we couldn't make the playoffs, I guess having the first pick, as bad as it is, might be good.''

Both teams sometimes seemed determined to lose during a wacky afternoon that included a scoreless fourth quarter. Houston lost Carr (right elbow) and top receiver Johnson (left ankle) to injuries in the first half, then went scoreless for nearly 32 minutes to end the game.

Adams returned a third-quarter interception 40 yards for a tying touchdown for the 49ers (4-12), whose own No. 1 pick, Alex Smith, finally threw his first touchdown pass late in the first half.

``It is nice to win two weeks in a row,'' said Smith, who went 16-of-29 for 159 yards and hit Brandon Lloyd for a 14-yard score. ``It shows a lot about this team, going down both weeks, and we came back. We came together at the end of this season and we gained momentum.''

The Texans are in for big offseason changes, with Capers expected to be fired Monday after four seasons. Bush has been on fans' minds in Houston and San Francisco since November - but the 49ers, Bush's favorite team growing up, dropped out of the top five in the draft by doubling their win total from last season.

``I hope this is the last time we have the No. 1 pick,'' said Texans owner Bob McNair, who said he would address the team's coaching situation Monday. ``At the same time, it is of great value to us. ... We're going to have four picks in the first 70 players. That means we're going to get some good players.''

``It's a little premature right now to say who we're taking,'' said general manager Charley Casserly, who's expected to keep his job. ``But I think everybody knows we aren't taking Matt Leinart.''

Bush, who watched from Los Angeles while preparing for Wednesday's Rose Bowl against Texas, claims he still doesn't know whether he'll enter the draft.

``Whatever happens in this game, it won't have any effect on me,'' Bush said. ``Obviously it will just (affect) who gets the first pick in the NFL draft. ... Like I said from Day 1, I won't be worried about it until after the season.''

Both teams had ample chances to finish their seasons with a win. Houston's Kris Brown missed a 31-yard field goal with 6:07 left in regulation, slicing it right in a stiff wind, and the Niners then drove to the Houston 35 - where they decided to punt with 50 seconds left instead of trying a long field goal by the strong-legged Nedney.

``With the time on the clock and their timeouts, I thought that they had too much in their hands,'' 49ers coach Mike Nolan said.

After three overtime punts, backup Houston quarterback Tony Banks' long pass was intercepted near midfield by Adams, who lateraled to Emanuel for a rambling return. Two plays later, Nedney capped his stellar season with the winning kick.

``That's the pinnacle right there,'' Nedney said. ``A walk-off home run right there. That's what you dream about. It seems like it has been a long time since we have had one of those.''

The Niners - an NFL-worst 2-14 in 2004 - finished with a two-game improvement in Nolan's first season, though they also set a franchise record for the fewest offensive yards in a season.

After the Niners made consecutive 14-play drives resulting in 10 points, Banks hit Corey Bradford with a 25-yard touchdown pass to put Houston up 17-10 late in the third. Banks led another strong drive in the fourth, but Brown couldn't score from the exact distance of his missed field goal at the end of a 13-10 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 11.

Jaguars-Texans

The Jacksonville Jaguars remembered what the Houston Texans did to them last year. They were determined not to let it happen again.

Jacksonville clinched its first playoff berth since 1999 by scoring three fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 38-20 comeback victory over Houston on Saturday.

With it, the Jaguars erased the ugly memory of a 21-0 loss to Houston last year on Dec. 26 that dashed their playoff hopes.

The Jaguars trailed 13-10 at halftime and 20-17 in a game where the suddenly scrappy Texans refused to go away.

``We knew it wasn't going to be easy,'' said Jacksonville receiver Jimmy Smith. ``But we've become a second-half team this year. I don't necessarily like it that way - we don't like to have to come back. But we have matured enough to be poised and do whatever we have to do to come away with a win.''

Fred Taylor's 15-yard touchdown with just more than nine minutes remaining gave Jacksonville a 24-20 lead. Taylor shook off three defenders and carried another into the end zone.

Jacksonville (11-4) added two touchdowns late in the game on a 36-yard reception by Ernest Wilford and a 17-yard run by LaBrandon Toefield set up by an interception. That touchdown was Toefield's third score of the day.

It is the sixth game this season Jacksonville won after trailing at halftime.

The Jaguars let Houston (2-13) stick around until the final quarter, but in the end the Texans were foiled by several costly penalties, dropping three would-be interceptions and missing two second-half field goals. They also have the league's worst record after San Francisco beat St. Louis; the Texans play at the 49ers in the finale.

``We had our opportunities and were close on a few, but we didn't make the plays it takes to beat a good football team,'' said Texans coach Dom Capers.

Wilford's touchdown prompted about a dozen Texans fans to begin a spirited chant of ``Reg-gie Bush, Reg-gie Bush,'' in reference to the Heisman Trophy winner from Southern Cal, who'll likely be the first pick in the draft if he decides to leave school early.

``If another team was in the same situation we're in, the fans would be doing the same thing,'' said Texans receiver Andre Johnson. ``They come out and support us every week, but when you're down you have to do something to cheer yourself up.''

Houston led 13-10 at halftime on the strength of a 50-yard touchdown pass by Carr and two field goals, including a 53-yarder by Kris Brown. Brown missed a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter and one from 48 in the fourth.

Taylor was held to just 39 yards in the first half, but came on in the second, to finish with 101 yards and a score.

Garrard was hurried and harassed by the Houston defense all day, but still managed to throw for 292 yards. He fumbled twice, but both were recovered by Jacksonville. Twice he threw balls right into the hands of Houston defenders on the goal line, but they couldn't hold on.

``David played a really good game,'' said Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio about Garrard, who is 2-2 since taking over for injured starter Byron Leftwich. ``He's done a good job while Byron's been down.''

But he still might lose his job if Leftwich returns this season. Del Rio said Leftwich ran and threw some passes late this week, but he's awaiting a doctor's report on his injured foot.

Garrard hopes he can retain his starting job even if Leftwich is healthy.

``It's up to them,'' Garrard said. ``But I'm not going to lie. I'd like it to be me.''

Toefield's second touchdown put Jacksonville ahead 17-13 in the third quarter, but Houston answered quickly. Houston's Andre Johnson got in front of Jaguars cornerback Terry Cousin on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Carr to take its final lead of the game.

Johnson had his second 100-yard game of the season with seven catches for 119 yards.

It's the first playoff berth for the Jaguars under Del Rio, who's in his third season.

``It was a big undertaking when we got here,'' said Del Rio, who got doused with Gatorade as time expired. ``Obviously they don't give a young coach a team chuck full of talent, ready for the Super Bowl. We had a lot of work to do when we got here and its starting to pay off.''