You have a good memory....Side note -- I'm still annoyed at Belichick for running the ball on the third-and-long just before the Rams' last touchdown. The difference between 2 minutes and 2 1/2 minutes for the Greatest Show on Turf was meaningless. Convert the first down and the Pats could have taken a knee and walked out as 17-10 victors.
I'll argue that the play call was justifiable, in that the Rams needed a TD to tie, and had already exhausted all their timeouts. Part of the problem was that Ken Walter shanked the punt and made the job substantially easier for the Rams. And until the final drive, the offensive game plan had been fairly conservative.