FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady threw his 400th career touchdown pass Sunday in a 51-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium, and everyone knew about it when it happened. It was headline news.

But the Patriots had another player set an NFL record Sunday, and most people will respond with a yawn.

Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals and six extra points Sunday afternoon, and the PATs were most significant. Gostkowski has now converted 425 consecutive extra points, surpassing Matt Stover, who ended his career in 2009 with a streak of 422 successful PATs.

“I mean, as far as I’m concerned he’s the best kicker in the National Football League and he has been since I’ve been here,” said Matthew Slater, New England’s special teams ace. “I know that’s a bold statement, but that’s what I truly believe. His body of work speaks volumes.”

Gostkowski, in his 10th year with the Patriots after being drafted out of Memphis in the fourth round in 2006, said he was aware of the approaching record because it was displayed on the jumbo video screen before the game. Afterward, he seemed to shrug it off as just another day at work.

“It’s just a testament to all the good snappers and holders I’ve had here,” he said, adding that punter Ryan Allen is the best holder in the league. “It doesn’t take much for something to go wrong, a bobbled hold, a break in protection, a low kick by me, a slip in the grass. It’s just cool to be able to be consistent, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Gostkowski, the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer with 1,204 points, is remarkably consistent. He hasn’t missed a PAT since the last regular-season game of his rookie year, on Dec. 31, 2006, when he had a kick blocked by the Tennessee Titans. That’s the only PAT he has missed as a Patriot.

He’s not bad at field goals either. His three field goals Sunday – 46, 20 and 46 yards – made him 7 for 7 on the season. He’s now 250 for 287 in his career for a success rate of 87.1 percent – third all-time behind Justin Tucker of the Ravens and Dan Bailey of the Cowboys.

When he set the record, the crowd gave him a round of applause. “The fans are cool, always yelling at me from the sidelines,” he said. “Everyone is a fantasy football coach now. I’m pretty popular playing for the Patriots, getting (them) a lot of points.”

Asked if he thought his record would ever be broken now that the NFL has moved PAT kicks back to the 15-yard line – essentially making them a 33-yard kick – he said he hadn’t thought about that.

“I’m just trying to adjust to the PATs myself,” he said. “It’s definitely a different approach. It feels like I’m kicking a field goal every time I’m out there. So I’m just trying to go out there and do my best.”

The record is nice, he said, but a 3-0 team record is better.

“It’s cool to be mentioned on any kind of list and it’s something I’ll look back on when I’m done playing and maybe mention to my kids about,” he said. “But right now I’m just glad we won, and look forward to our early bye week.”

BILL BELICHICK was asked about Brady’s 400th touchdown pass and mentioned Gostkow- ski’s record as well: “That takes a lot of games, a lot of snaps to do that, and it’s certainly a tribute to both of them, the durability, longevity, and obviously consistent production that both of them have had. So, I feel really fortunate to have coached and had guys like that on our team, and those two guys in particular. They had a good day as they’ve had for many, many days in their career.”

SLATER MADE a good play, stopping Jacksonville running back Corey Grant short of a first down on a fake punt attempt in the fourth quarter.

Slater said the coaches prepared the team all week for that possibility. Belichick said Patriots running back James White actually beat the punt team on that play in practice.

“We knew they needed to do something to keep them in the game,” said Slater. “We were aware of that. Our communication was really good, everybody being on the same page. That’s really coaching and preparation throughout the week.”

RECORDS: The Patriots set a team record for points in the first three games of the season (119) and an NFL record for most first downs in the first three games (88). Buffalo previously had the record of 86 first downs, set in 1991. New England also tied the team single-game record with 35 first downs.

It was the Patriots’ 76th consecutive win when leading at the half. They’re 68-0 at Gillette Stadium when leading at halftime.

PERHAPS THE biggest surprise among the Patriots’ inactive players was veteran cornerback Bradley Fletcher, who played extensively in the first two games. He was fifth on the team with 10 tackles (seven solo) and had one forced fumble.

He was replaced on the active roster by rookie cornerback Justin Coleman. The 5-foot-11, 185 pound Coleman was undrafted out of Tennessee and signed with the Vikings, who released him on Aug. 30. The Patriots signed him five days later but released him the next day.

Seattle then signed Coleman on Sept. 6. Three days later, the Patriots signed Coleman off the Seahawks’ practice squad. Under NFL rules, Coleman had to remain on the Patriots’ 53-man roster for three weeks. He finished with three tackles in his first NFL game.

Other New England inactives included offensive lineman Ryan Wendell (illness), defensive linemen Trey Flowers (knee) and Rufus Johnson, safety Tavon Wilson, tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and running back Travaris Cadet.

James White, who was inactive last week against Buffalo, replaced Cadet in the lineup. He had four catches for 26 yards and rushed for eight yards.