New Details Emerge On Patriots-Bengals Sideline Filming Allegations

The New England Patriots got into a thing with the Cincinnati Bengals, and it has nothing to do with the upcoming game. Cincinnati got a bit angry after spotting the Patriots cameraman at the sideline in Cleveland. The Bengals were playing the Cleveland Browns, and New England sent a film crew to film segments of the game. Cincinnati complained that the Patriots had sent someone to film the sideline, and the National Football League was involved. Head coach Bill Belichick wasn’t pleased to hear the allegations against his team. The coach has already been in a similar situation. Remember Spygate and Deflategate?

According to The Athletics’ Jeff Howe, the Patriots head coach was “furious upon learning of the incident.”

NESN’s reporters talked to a source who denied the allegations against New England. The source says that the Patriots didn’t intentionally break any rules when their film crew taped the Bengals’ sideline from the press box, adding that the whole thing is nothing but an unfortunate coincidence. The production department is a different and separate entity from Patriots football operations.

New England’s TV production team was making segments for its “Do Your Job” documentary series on a pro scout who also was in the press box. The scout is actually part of the Patriots football team.

The Patriots film crew was making the Patriots-Kansas City Chiefs game at Gillette Stadium, but they sent freelancers in Cleveland as confirmed by sources. However, Howe confirms that the producer was a full-time employee of the Patriots TV team. The producer was unaware of NFL’s rules forbidding filming the field from the press box and was planning to use the footage as B-roll.

The National Football League may finish its investigation by the end of the week. Sources confirm that the Patriots may not receive harsh penalties for this incident.

New England plays Cincinnati on Sunday, and hopefully this incident won’t affect their game. The team has three games to finish the season. They are playing a road game against the Bengals and two home games. Tom Brady and his team lost three games in the regular season.