SAN FRANCISCO — From lineman Joe Staley's fumble recovery in the end zone to Shaun Hill's final touchdown pass, the San Francisco 49ers showed they're finally getting it together — even if it's probably a bit too late to save their season.

Yet the chilly winds at Candlestick Park did nothing to cool down Jets coach Eric Mangini, whose reeling team has only three chances left to stop a promising year from totally falling apart.

Hill passed for 285 yards and two touchdowns against New York's porous secondary, and the 49ers sent the AFC East-leading Jets to their second straight embarrassing loss, 24-14, yesterday.

Joe Nedney kicked a 32-yard tiebreaking field goal early in the fourth quarter and Bryant Johnson made a diving 3-yard TD catch with 6:05 left for the suddenly solid 49ers (5-8), who have won three of four.

Staley, their 315-pound left tackle, jumped on receiver Jason Hill's fumble for the 49ers' first score, adding a leaping spike that could have been mistaken for a tremor in a less earthquake-savvy stadium.

"It's just great to celebrate something," Staley said.

San Francisco beat an AFC East team with a winning record for the second straight week, knocking the Jets (8-5) into a tie atop the division with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, who both won yesterday.

"The answers? The answers are in the room. The answers are within each person," Mangini said. "What we've got to do is what we've always done, which is come back and work that much more efficiently and that much more effectively. ... That's what we need to do week in and week out through the month of December because there's not very many chances left."

Frank Gore caught a short TD pass and rushed for 52 yards before injuring his left ankle early in the second half for the Niners, who improved to 3-3 under Mike Singletary, the interim coach making a compelling case for the permanent job.

STEELERS 20, COWBOYS 13

PITTSBURGH — Deshea Townsend scored on a 26-yard interception return with 1:40 remaining as the Steelers (10-3) scored their only two touchdowns 24 seconds apart to rally from a 10-point deficit against the Cowboys (8-5).

Pittsburgh was stopped on fourth down at the Dallas 1 early in the fourth quarter while falling behind 13-3, but came back to tie it at 13 on Ben Roethlisberger's 6-yard pass to Heath Miller with 2:04 left.

On second-and-8 from the Cowboys 17, Jason Witten ran the wrong pass route, allowing Townsend to step in front of the pass for the fifth turnover forced by Pittsburgh's league-leading defense.

PATRIOTS 24, SEAHAWKS 21

SEATTLE — Matt Cassel calmly stared down blitzes for completions with his team's playoff chances in the balance. Then Sammy Morris leaped into the end zone from 1 yard on fourth down with 2:44 remaining.

Cassel was 26 of 44 for 268 yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers for the Patriots (8-5).

Cassel was 5 for 8 on the decisive drive from the New England 29. He converted third-down throws to Jabar Gaffney and Wes Welker, who caught a season-high 12 passes for 134 yards, against the Seahawks (2-11).

BEARS 23, JAGUARS 10

CHICAGO — Danieal Manning set the tone for a strong defensive effort with an early interception, and Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen caught touchdown passes as the Bears (7-6) beat the Jaguars (4-9).

Robbie Gould kicked three field goals for the Bears.

With the game-time temperature at 18 degrees, Manning warmed up the crowd when he picked off David Garrard and returned it 42 yards to the 5 on the third play from scrimmage. That set up Clark's 2-yard touchdown catch.

TEXANS 24, PACKERS 21

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Playing his first game in a month because of a knee injury, quarterback Matt Schaub marched the Texans (6-7) to set up Kris Brown's 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game.

It was the second straight late defensive meltdown at home by the Packers (5-8), whose playoff hopes pretty much disappeared.

The Texans won despite committing four turnovers.

Schaub was 28 of 42 for 414 yards with two touchdowns.

RAVENS 24, REDSKINS 10

BALTIMORE — Ed Reed set up a touchdown with an interception and scored on a 22-yard fumble return to help the Ravens (9-4) win for the seventh time in eight games.

The Redskins (7-6) trailed 17-0 before scoring twice in the fourth quarter after Baltimore turnovers, but couldn't complete the comeback.

Washington's Jason Campbell threw two interceptions and was sacked twice, Clinton Portis had only 32 yards rushing and lost a fumble, and Shaun Suisham missed a 48-yard field goal.