The controversy hanging over the New England Patriots organization in regards to Spygate might be in the past, but it’s one of those infamous black marks in franchise history that never really went away,
Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Barrett Brooks was the latest to bring it up when appearing on the Legal Hands To The Face podcast.
He specifically brought up the 2004 AFC Championship Game, which pitted the Patriots on the road against the Steelers. New England was already coming off a Super Bowl victory in the previous season, and they were looking to repeat as champions.
It was a rough game for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw three interceptions in a 41-27 loss. Even running back Jerome Bettis was shut down to some degree in a game where he finished with 17 carries for only 64 yards and one touchdown.
“I can remember going into the game, and they knew the plays before we did,” said Brooks. “I can hear all of those guys, Rodney Harrison say, ‘Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw.’ And then Ben comes in, he calls a draw play and I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ Teddy Bruschi knowing the play, ‘Hey, hey, hey—they’re going to sprint to the right, sprint to the right.’
“And then moving an entire defense over because they knew our plays before it happened. So yeah, they cheated me out of a—I should have two Super Bowls now. We were supposed to be in that Super Bowl against the Eagles. This was all Pennsylvania Super Bowl.”
Whenever I think I’m over Spygate… 😡 Former Pittsburgh Steelers & Philadelphia Eagles player Barrett Brooks explains how bad it was. Are the New England Patriots cheaters? #spygate #nfl pic.twitter.com/ao6KAvJvJu
— Legal Hands To The Face (@LegalHands2Face) July 7, 2023
The Patriots were accused of videotaping signals from opposing coaches during games in 2000-2007.
With that said, they have had Pittsburgh’s number throughout the Bill Belichick era, even beyond the accusations of Spygate. They are 10-4 against Pittsburgh since 2000. Even Mac Jones and the struggling 2022 Patriots handed the Steelers a 17-14 loss last season.
So was the Steelers losing really an issue of Spygate or the Patriots doing what they’ve typically always done when the two teams went head-to-head?
