HOUSTON -- 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 yesterday against Houston.

With it, the Jaguars erased the ugly memory of a 21-0 loss to Houston last season 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 defeated 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," Texans coach Dom Capers said.

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 California, who'll likely be the first pick in the draft if he decides to leave school early.