Belichick's team accomplishing great things

But with all that said, his current team may be his favorite.

Coaches rarely admit things like that. They often view their teams the same way parents view their children: picking a favorite seems moot when you love them all. If you were to pull the coach aside, though, he might give you a wink and gush about a team that seems to enjoy trampling modest expectations.

Play a close game in Miami? Please. They'd rather win on an 82-yard pass from Tom Brady to Troy Brown. Stay competitive against the Titans and Eagles? Sure. They'll take wins, too, blitzing on most defensive plays against Donovan McNabb and unleashing Mike Cloud (7 carries, 73 yards) on the Titans.

Last night the Patriots were facing a team that has haunted them since the late 1960s, when Belichick was a student at Annapolis High School. The Broncos have humiliated the Patriots here and in Foxborough. They have beaten them with Craig Morton at quarterback, John Elway at quarterback, and Brian Griese at quarterback. On a night when Al Michaels, John Madden, and the rest of the nation was watching, the Patriots won, 30-26.

They won even though they were doing their own rendition of "Scary Movie 3" in the first half. The Broncos held the ball for more than 21 minutes to New England's eight, the Patriots had three first downs to the Broncos' 14, and the home team had run twice as many offensive plays.

The halftime score?

Broncos, 17-13.

"I've got an empty spot in my heart right now," Broncos quarterback Danny Kanell said when the remarkable game was over. "In my mind, I thought we were going to win."

So, too, did most of the 76,203 fans at Invesco Field at Mile High. Readers of the Denver Post opened their morning paper and read a column by Woody Paige, who said a Bronco win was a lock. It didn't look great for the Patriots a couple hours before the game. That's when the team announced that dominating defensive tackle/defensive end Richard Seymour did not travel with the team because of a leg injury.

It was going to be difficult enough facing Clinton Portis -- averaging more than 5 yards per carry -- with Seymour. But stopping him with two rookies (Dan Klecko and Ty Warren) holding down the interior seemed a lot to ask.

Portis ran for 111 yards and scored the Broncos' first touchdown, but he was controlled most of the night. His performance was good; the Patriots had someone on their side who was great.

Remember, this team's official bumper sticker is, "We go beyond what you expect." Brady was the embodiment of that slogan, opening the New England scoring with a 66-yard pass to Deion Branch. The play was executed in typical Patriots style. While the highlight shows will focus on Brady-to-Branch, the play came to life because of the behind-the-scenes work of Troy Brown. Brown was able to sell safety Kenoy Kennedy on a short pass. Kennedy bit so hard on Brown's route that he wound up hitting the receiver about 15 yards from the line of scrimmage.

Meanwhile, Branch was running down the middle of the field, with one less safety to worry about. He caught the ball and easily outran corners Kelly Herndon and Lenny Walls.

This is why this team is on its way to being Belichick's favorite. He is a cerebral sort, and he loves to be surrounded by football intellectuals. It is why he still talks reverentially about Taylor and his ability to figure out the techniques being used against him. It is why he has so much admiration for Jim Brown, who was not only a dominant fullback but a dominant lacrosse player as well. And it is why he appreciates the little things -- Brown's route running, Adam Vinatieri's efficiency, Brady's hunger to be better -- in his current team.

If you focus on the warts, the Patriots had no business winning the game. They were extremely sloppy, accumulating 14 penalties. But they offset the sloppiness with 350 yards from Brady, a game-changing special teams move in the fourth quarter, and a winning touchdown catch by receiver David Givens.

Trailing, 24-23, with 2:51 remaining and at their 1, Belichick and special teams coach Brad Seely agreed that long snapper Lonie Paxton should intentionally snap the ball out of the end zone. That gave the Broncos 2 points and a 26-23 lead, but it also gave New England a free kick. Ken Walter, who had a weak 20-yard punt earlier in the game, responded with a 64-yard boomer to the Denver 15. Thirty-four seconds later, the Patriots had the ball and were on their way to the winning drive.

The night ended when Brady hit Givens for an 18-yard touchdown pass over Deltha O'Neal.

There wasn't much noise in the Rockies after Givens made his catch. Mostly, you heard the sounds of jubilant men in silver helmets. Belichick didn't toss his headset in the air as he did in Miami, but he probably felt like it. The coach likes to listen to the Beatles and the Allmans and Jon Bon Jovi. This team is going to cause him to switch up his soundtrack. When he thinks of the '03 Patriots and what they've done, he might want to slide "My Favorite Things" into his compact disc player.

Michael Holley is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is holley@globe.com.