Bill Belichick defended his decision to go for it on fourth down as criticism mounted Monday of the call that led to the New England Patriots stunning loss.

The coach hailed as one of the NFL's best was a target of columnists, talk radio callers and two of his former players. Why, they all wondered, did he gamble with a six-point lead and just over two minutes to go against the Indianapolis Colts?

The gamble failed and the Patriots lost 35-34 after leading by 17 points in the fourth quarter Sunday night.

"The same thing I said after the game," Belichick said at his regular Monday news conference. "I thought it was our best chance to win. I thought we needed to make that one play and then we could basically run out the clock. We weren't able to make it."

An average punt would have left Peyton Manning about 60 to 70 yards from the end zone, a long distance but one Manning has traveled before with little time left.

But when the Patriots gained 1 yard on fourth-and-2, his task became much easier. Manning got the ball at the New England 29-yard line and four plays later he threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds left. Matt Stover's extra point was the winning margin.

Belichick was noncommittal Monday when asked if he would make the same decision again.

"You only get one chance," he said.

When that chance ended, the second guessing started.

NBC analyst Rodney Harrison, a safety for Belichick for six years who retired before this season, called it "the worst coaching decision I've ever seen Bill Belichick make."

ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, who retired this year after 14 seasons as a Patriots linebacker, said, "The decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil for weeks. ... I would look at this decision as a lack of confidence in our ability as a defensive unit to come up with a big play to win the game."

NFL SENDING $50,000 to SAMOA: The NFL and the NFL Players Association are contributing $50,000 to help victims of the tsunami that struck American Samoa in September.

The league said Monday that two former players of Samoan descent, Eagles running back Reno Mahe and Bears tight end Gabe Reid, will visit the region in the next few weeks.

Many players with Samoan backgrounds are also raising funds on their own to help victims. The Sept. 29 tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga.

The league and the union will contribute the money to the American Red Cross through their Disaster Relief Fund.