The New England Patriots’ dynasty earlier this century is well and truly over. But that isn’t stopping some of the teams they stomped on over the years from throwing out their gripes.
In a new podcast episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback reminisced with old teammate Jerome Bettis about their glory days together. After a humorous sequence about who cost who a trip to Super Bowl 39, Roethlisberger veered the conversation to an all-too-predictable place. He claimed that the Patriots cheated during the 2004 AFC title game.
Bettis, of course, agreed with the sentiment. But this is how losers of a big game almost always feel:
Big Ben and Jerome Bettis on playing the Patriots in the 2004 AFC Championship Game:
Ben: “To be fair the Patriots cheated.”
Jerome: “For Sure they did.”#steelers
🎥YT/ Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger@_BigBen7 pic.twitter.com/m9G5Oe0qR6
— Matthew Luciow (@matthewluciow92) September 25, 2023
Look, I’m not going to discount the Patriots’ reputation for apparently cheating. “Spygate” and “Deflategate” were big deals for a team that sat at the top of the NFL for roughly 20 years. But the Patriots flat-out smacked the Steelers in that AFC title game. A 41-27 final score is not nearly indicative of how much better New England was. The way Roethlisberger and Bettis seemingly describe it is that the Steelers were maybe a few plays here or there from shifting the tide. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Their claim here feels like sour grapes because they didn’t get a chance at the Super Bowl. But maybe we’d all be in denial if we lost that kind of golden opportunity.
This was how Twitter reacted to Roethlisberger and Bettis' cheating claim
Then why didn’t they change the play? https://t.co/QUoZRWwG7U
— Devin Jones (@devinOU13) September 26, 2023
It’s pretty cool that any team that failed/sucked in the last 20 years can just deflect and say they lost because the patriots cheated and people just eat it up without question. https://t.co/YG578Ftlc6
— dillon (@coincidendill) September 26, 2023
What Bettis doesn’t mention is that he fumbled on this exact play he’s talking about. And what Ben doesn’t mention is that he threw 3 interceptions in this game https://t.co/PLE1y8XCJA
— LeBron is the GOAT (@LBJistheGOAT6) September 26, 2023
Is that cheating or is that watching film on your opponent and learning what they do? Just cause y’all don’t watch film as closely doesn’t mean it’s cheating https://t.co/VhI8gFsfsW
— Spaceboy Rich (@Swaby97) September 26, 2023
“Cheating” https://t.co/mpQbPwr5kl pic.twitter.com/UxSS1PdZ5H
— Rollé (@RolleJordan) September 26, 2023
https://t.co/RrGpHdx70s pic.twitter.com/yYFeiHEkM5
— Rick from Parts Unknown (@therick77) September 26, 2023
“Ben Roethlisberger and Jerome Bettis say the Patriots stole their signs and cheated in the 2004 AFC Championship Game.”
The Steelers got dominated and lost the game 41-27.
Tom Brady was 14/21 with 207 yards and 2 TD. 130 passer rating.
— Savage (@SavageSports_) September 26, 2023
No dude you got stuffed and fumbled the ball. All these players just want excuses for why they couldn’t beat Tom Brady. No accountability https://t.co/tirr7jZbjr
— jon (@J0n_12) September 26, 2023
Conspiracy theories are wild, or maybe Belichick is just a defensive genius. https://t.co/qMahFqCMGy
— Silent Assassin (@timmyenglish8) September 26, 2023
