Intentional safety sets up winning points for Patriots

Tom Brady passed for the winning TD in the final 30 seconds.
DENVER (AP) -- A shrewd coaching decision helped put the New England Patriots in position to kick a tying field goal. They wound up getting much more.
Instead of a field goal, the Patriots got an 18-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to David Givens with 30 seconds remaining to beat the Denver Broncos 30-26 Monday night for their fifth straight win.
The clinching score was set up by an intentional safety, which Patriots coach Bill Belichick ordered with his team backed up on its 1-yard line.
Intentional safety helped
The safety gave Denver a 26-23 lead, but it gave New England a better position to kick from, and Ken Walter's free kick put the Broncos back to their own 15. Denver went three-and-out, and New England needed to drive just 58 yards after getting possession with 2:15 remaining.
"We were hoping to get the ball back in decent field position and still have some time to at least try for a field goal to tie it," Belichick said.
Brady completed 19- and 16-yard passes to Kevin Faulk as the Patriots reached the Denver 18. Taking a shot into the end zone, Brady hit Givens for the clincher.
Givens beat Denver cornerback Deltha O'Neal, who appeared to have won the game for the Broncos with a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter that put Denver up 24-20.
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 24-23.
With Denver placekicker Jason Elam on the sideline with a strained groin, the Broncos twice eschewed field-goal tries from inside the New England 40 and punted -- the second time downing the ball at the 1.
After three straight incomplete passes, the Patriots faced a fourth-and-10. New England lined up to punt, but long snapper Lonie Paxton sailed the snap high and off the upright with 2:49 to go.
Smart decision
"There are times when an intentional safety is the right play to make just in terms of trying to gain some field position," Belichick said. "It was really a pretty quick decision. If you punt it out of there, you get a 40-yard punt and they catch it on the 40 and run it back to the 30. Now they kick a field goal and you need a touchdown to win."
Givens termed it "the best call of the game. Our coaches knew that we have a great field goal kicker. The offense was moving the ball all game, and either we were going to get three and go to overtime or score a touchdown."
The Patriots (7-2) got a break on the ensuing free kick when the Broncos had some miscommunication, and O'Neal fell on the ball at the 15. Three plays later, New England got the ball back.
"There were a lot of things we didn't do very well tonight," Brady said. "But the thing about this team is that sometimes we're down but we're never out."
Brady completed 20-of-35 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns.
Third straight loss
The loss was the third in a row for the injury-riddled Broncos (5-4) as they head into a bye week.
"Obviously, this is very tough," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "I told our team that I don't really know what to say. I thought we fought extremely hard. The bottom line is that in the end, we didn't get it done and they did."
Third-string quarterback Danny Kanell, making his second straight start for the Broncos because of injuries to Jake Plummer and Steve Beuerlein, was 16-of-35 for 163 yards and a TD.
"It hurts right down here, in the pit of my stomach," Kanell said. "This one will be with me a long time."