FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The San Francisco 49ers earned a playoff berth by withstanding a stunning comeback by New England from a 28-point deficit to beat the Patriots, 41-34, on Sunday night in the rain.

Michael Crabtree took a short pass from Colin Kaepernick and sped around cornerback Kyle Arrington for a 38-yard touchdown with 6:25 to go, then David Akers made a 28-yard field goal to clinch it.

San Francisco (10-3-1) owns at least a wild-card spot and plays at Seattle next week with a chance to win the NFC West. A loss would bring the division race down to the final weekend.