December Schedule:
Key Games to Look For: Bills at Patriots (12/21).
Game Recaps:
Patriots at Bengals: 12/15/19
Final Score:
Summary: The Patriots had an uncharacteristically slow start against the Bengals last Sunday, but we eventually kicked things into gear and brought home a win. With this win, the Patriots remain in first place in the AFC East with a record of 11-3 and secured an automatic spot in the playoffs. Our remaining two games will determine whether or not we win our division and receive home field advantage and a bye in the first round. The Bengals dropped to an abysmal 1-13 record on the season.
Patriots Offensive Box Score:
Key Players: Rookie N’Keal Harry, James White, and Rex Burkhead each scored a touchdown. Tom Brady threw for 128 yards with 15 completions and two touchdowns.
Patriots Defensive Box Score:
Key Players: J.C. Jackson and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Stephen Gilmore each had two interceptions; Gilmore returned one for a touchdown. Ja’Whaun Bentley led the team with four tackles and four assists.
Patriots Special Teams Box Score:
Key Players: Nick Folk was 2/2 on field goals.
Bengals Offensive Box Score:
Key Players: The Bengals struggled immensely on offense; Andy Dalton threw four interceptions. Receiver Cethan Carter caught a touchdown.
Bengals Defensive Box Score:
Key Players: Germaine Pratt led all players with 7 tackles.
Bengals Special Teams Box Score:
Key Players: Randy Bullock was 2/2 on field goals.
Blog Posts:
Patriots Legacy Tainted by Cheating Scandals?
Spygate 2?
The Patriots were accused of cheating… again. According to league officials, the Cincinnati Bengals filed allegations with the NFL this week after an employee of the Patriots organization was caught filming their game versus the Browns on Sunday night.
The Patriots released a statement that the employees behavior, while inappropriate, was merely a misunderstanding; the video of the Bengals game was being shot as part of a web series called “Do Your Job,” but the employee did not receive consent from the two teams beforehand. The NFL examined the video and found no evidence of wrongdoing at this time.
History of Cheating Allegations
Even though the most recent allegations do not appear to be true, the Patriots have suffered from a laundry list of accusations over the past two decades. According to an article on Forbes.com, written by Terrence Moore, “ESPN ‘Outside the line‘ discovered in September 2015 that the Patriots actually spied on 40 games of opponents between 2000 and 2007.”
The Patriots were infamously caught in the “spygate” scandal when they filmed the New York Jets. We’ve been accused of fabricating injury reports, deflating footballs in a playoff game to provide an edge for Brady, and now this; spygate 2. Is the Patriots legacy tainted by all of these allegations of wrongdoing?
Continued Dominance Cannot be Refuted
While these allegations are certainly concerning — fans never want to hear that their team has a reputation for cheating — some of them are still unsubstantiated. Furthermore, these minor scandals, though certainly unacceptable if true, do not change the fact that the Patriots have dominated their opponents for 20 years.
Video tapes, deflated footballs, false injury reports? The Patriots have not won 6 super bowls in the last 20 years because they stole signs from the Jets. Our dominance as an organization is irrefutable. The potential cheating doesn’t rob us of our accolades, but it does taint our reputation to fans from other states. One might say that “they hate us cause they ain’t us,” which is true; fans outside of New England will find any excuse to bring us down.
But I’d like to turn over a new leaf moving forward. As a former athlete and lifelong sports fan, I respect the integrity of the game far too much to condone cheating. Let’s hope that these allegations begin to fade so we can get back to focusing on football!
Feel free to leave comments or suggestions below! I’d love to hear a new topic to write about! Follow me on all social media platforms; lets talk sports!
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