NFL Reportedly ‘Inclined To Believe’ Patriots’ Explanation For Recording Bengals

The New England Patriots got into trouble days before the clash with the Cincinnati Bengals. The organization had sent their film crew to Cleveland to tape segments of the game between the Bengals and the Browns. They did that with permission from the Browns, but apparently, the Bengals weren’t really happy about it. The National Football League got involved because the Bengals weren’t happy to see the cameraman taping their sidelines during the game. Officials are investigating the problem, and New England has accepted responsibility for the rules violation. However, they do insist the “Do Your Job” film crew was acting out of ignorance, rather than with bad intent.

The story caused chaos in the NFL, and many teams and fans are calling for the Patriots and their head coach to be fined. Moreover, they use the Patriots’ past to convince the NFL that the team was doing some shady business on Sunday.

The NFL will make a decision

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Judy Battista confirmed that the NFL is inclined to believe this explanation. Rapoport added some extra info, confirming the initial report.

“I do get the same sense, that the league is inclined to believe the Patriots’ explanation,” Rapoport said Tuesday on NFL Network. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean the Patriots are off the hook. They did admit that they did not alert the Bengals, they did not alert the NFL. Clearly, there was, at the least, a miscommunication here which would lead me to believe, based on the people I’ve spoken with, that if they got penalized it, would be something along the lines of a fine.”

The NFL will have to announce a ruling these days. Will the Patriots be fined for this? They are playing Cincinnati on Sunday, and hopefully, this incident won’t affect their chances to win the game.

Belichick and his team were in similar trouble in 2007, and he lost a half-million dollars in the process. New England was fined with $250K and a first-round pick from the 2008 NFL Draft.

Everything will be solved in the next few days. Until then, game on, Pats!