Without any sort of context, taking a knee and getting tackled at the two makes sense.
If your kicker is David Akers, perhaps it would be foolish to try to score a touchdown.
But to pass up a guaranteed six points-when you're behind with less than a minute to go-in favor of a field goal attempt by a spotty kicker who almost missed two field goals under forty yards earlier in the game is absolute madness, Brady or no Brady.
Believe me, I would have had my heart in my throat awaiting that last short field goal attempt. If he makes it—Giants are Super Bowl Champs. If he misses it, they’re not. The enormity of the situation does create an unknown factor. I’m not the biggest Tynes fan either, but, historically, from chip-shot range, he has been very good. Lifetime, he’s 56 of 57 from 20-29 yards away, 4 for 4 from inside the 20, and 311 of 317 on extra points. So, in that which we can measure, we’re looking at 98%. We can’t measure what’s in his heart or his head in a make-or-break situation. Belichick felt like the odds were so far against his team, he was willing to give up a go-ahead touchdown to avoid a potential game-winning field goal attempt from short range. And I certainly watched the last minute unfold with enough trepidation and alarm that I can’t disagree with his logic.