Behind legendary quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, among others, the New England Patriots won six Super Bowl championships from 2001 to 2018, and while it may be the greatest dynasty in NFL history, it also attracted lots of jealousy and even some scorn.
The “Spygate” scandal in the late 2000s revealed that the Patriots videotaped opposing teams, apparently in an attempt to gain intel on their play-calling, and former Pittsburgh Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger accused them of cheating against his team when recalling Pittsburgh’s loss to them in the 2004 AFC Championship Game.
Asante Samuel, a standout cornerback on the 2004 New England team, fired back with a simple explanation as to why his squad won that game, via JPAFootball.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Former #Patriots CB Asante Samuel calls out Ben Roethlisberger and Jerome Bettis for saying the Pats cheated in the 2004 AFC Championship Game.
“Are you crazy? This is what determined the outcome of the game: Tom Brady was better than Ben Roethlisberger, Rodney… pic.twitter.com/5Mn5XX1YCA
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 27, 2023
The 2004 season was a revival year for the Steelers, as they took Roethlisberger with the No. 11 pick in that April’s draft, and he turned out to be the franchise QB they hadn’t had since Terry Bradshaw retired two decades earlier.
They went 15-1 behind Roethlisberger, star running back Jerome Bettis, stud wide receiver Hines Ward and the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL, giving them hope they could knock out the defending world champion Patriots.
But Brady’s crew made quick work of them in the AFC Championship Game with a 41-27 victory before going on to win their third Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger and Bettis pointed to one play during that contest, and New England’s response, as evidence that Belichick’s team cheated.
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
Luckily for Pittsburgh, they bounced back the following season and won it all, although they didn’t face the Patriots in the playoffs, as the Patriots lost in the Divisional round to the Denver Broncos.
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