Patriots Get to 10 but Not to Five

The Patriots gave up a touchdown at home for the first time in five games. Their unbeaten streak is still going strong.

New England beat Jacksonville, 27-13, on a snowy Sunday for its 10th consecutive win, even though the Jaguars became the first visitor to reach the end zone in Foxboro in more than two months.

“We are a very prideful defensive unit,” Patriot linebacker Ted Johnson said. “We may not be perfect, but we’re pretty good.”

The Patriots (12-2) are 7-0 at home and extended their club record for consecutive victories overall.

They also pushed their streak to 19 quarters without giving up a touchdown in Foxboro before Byron Leftwich threw a 27-yard scoring pass to Kevin Johnson with 3:22 left.

That throw in the snow merely reduced the Patriots’ 21-point lead and kept them from becoming the first team since the 1932 champion Chicago Bears to play five consecutive home games without giving up a touchdown.

They’ll have to settle for tying the four-game streak of the 1938 New York Giants, who also won the championship.

“They just don’t make mistakes, and that’s why they have the record they do,” said Fred Taylor, who managed only 57 yards in 16 carries for Jacksonville.

Steve McNair scored on a one-yard run with 4:10 left in New England’s 38-30 win over Tennessee on Oct. 5, the last touchdown the Patriots had yielded at home before Sunday.

New England entered the game as the AFC East champion. Jacksonville (4-10) had rebounded well from a 1-7 start and had allowed only 33 points in its previous four games. But it fell to 0-7 on the road.