FOXBORO — When Patriots placekicker Stephen Gostkowski found out that his 53-yard field goal in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos was the longest of his career, he didn’t celebrate.

After all, Gostkowski missed a 40-yarder late in the third quarter that would likely have won the game in regulation for the Patriots.

When asked on Monday about his career-long field goal, Gostkowski said, “It doesn’t matter. Every field goal counts the same to me. If it’s a long one, great, if it’s a short one, you can’t really take it for granted, you just have to go out there and kick.”

Gostkowski said the miss felt good coming off his foot.

“I looked at [the video] today and it looked like I did the same exact thing on [that] kick. It just moved to the left a little bit. It’s one of those things where maybe I just have to concentrate a little harder or do a little more work during the week. It felt good going out there. Sometimes you miss and you can’t really explain it.”

It didn’t take him long to forget about the miss.

“Once I miss, I don’t sit around and sulk about it,” he said. “I’d be doing the team a disservice if I just sat there and cried about it all day and let it ruin the next one. It could have just as easily been me out there kicking that game-winner in overtime. [Denver kicker Matt Prater] missed one earlier and came back and bounced back and did a good job. I missed one and the only think I could think about was, ‘I hope I get another chance. I hope that we win. I hope that I didn’t hurt the team.’ It ended up hurting the team a little bit and it kind of makes you hurt a little more when you lose and you have a negative play that didn’t help the team win. That doesn’t happen to me very often and I don’t plan on making it a trend.”

Brady shoulders blame

It’s clear that Tom Brady is not as sharp as he was during his 2007 record-breaking season when he was named the MVP of the NFL.

Because he has been so successful in the past, Brady said he doesn’t blame NFL pundits and fans for criticizing him when he misfires on throws, like when he overthrew Randy Moss who was wide-open near the goal line in the first quarter of New England’s 20-17 loss to Denver, or when he did not connect with Wes Welker in the fourth quarter on a throw that could have went the distance.

“If there’s an opportunity to make a play, to throw the ball and complete it, then I feel you should be 100 percent [confident I can make the throw],” Brady said on his scheduled weekly appearance on WEEI. “If the defense makes a good play, they make a good play. If they don’t, then they don’t. Believe me, there’s obviously after a game a lot of soul-searching. The only thing I can focus on is what I need to do better. And there’s plenty of things I need to do better.

“We’ve got 11 games to play. We’ve got an opponent this week that’s always a tough test for us. Hopefully, we can go out there and play better. I’m excited to get back to practice on Wednesday and get back to work.”

No defense for it

One week after allowing the Baltimore Ravens to produce touchdown scoring drives of 80 and 81 yards, the Patriots allowed the Broncos to complete touchdown drives of 90 and 98 yards.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is not happy that his team is giving up long scoring drives.

“When we’re out there on defense, it’s to keep them out of the end zone,” Belichick said. “Anytime they get it into the end zone, that’s not a good feeling. It doesn’t matter if it’s 90 or 10 [yards]. If we get a chance to stop them, then that’s our job, to stop them.”

The Patriots sacked Denver quarterback Kyle Orton only twice for a combined loss of 9 yards. Orton was able to pick New England’s defense apart by making short, crisp passes.

He completed 35-of-48 passes for 330 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to end the first half on a Hail Mary pass.

“[There] was a lot of quick passing, a short passing game,” Belichick said. “There weren’t a lot of times where he was standing back there holding the ball. There were times we were getting to him, but the ball was out of there. Pass defense is all interrelated. It’s all about the timing of the coordination between the coverage and the rush. [If] the receivers are covered [and] the quarterback has to hold the ball, then your pass rush has a chance to get there. If they are not covered, then it doesn’t make any difference, they don’t have to block anybody and the ball is gone… It’s all about timing… It’s team defense.”

No light on Light’s injury

Belichick didn’t give any updates on Matt Light’s injured right knee.

The Pro Bowl player and member of the Patriots 50th Anniversary Team injured his knee on the first play of the fourth quarter when center Dan Koppen rolled into him.

Light stayed on the field for several moments to allow the trainers to work on him. He would eventually leave the field without putting much pressure on his right leg and was replaced by rookie Sebastian Vollmer.

“I think he did a good job,” running back Sammy Morris said of Vollmer. “He’s a tough kid who really plays hard.”

“He’s a good, young rookie,” Brady said of Vollmer on WEEI. “He’s a smart kid, tough kid. He’s out there because the coaches have a lot of confidence in him. It will be great for him to use this as a great opportunity for himself.”

After spending a few minutes on the sidelines being attended to by trainers, Light left for the locker room and did not return. Over his nine-year career, Light has appeared in 118 games, starting 116.