What if the greatest dynasty in sports history was based on a lie? Tom Brady and Bill Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, earning the title of the greatest NFL dynasty of all time. But what if the Patriots didn’t really earn their rings? The Patriots had great success, but their dynasty remains one of the most controversial, accompanied by sharp suspicion from rivals. Join the GH Falcon for an in-depth explanation of the dispute.

To fully understand the debacle, we need to look at the Patriots’ history of scandals. Discovered in 2007 but taking place long before, Spygate was the first controversy associated with this Brady and Belichick team. Spygate was a scandal involving the videotaping of other teams in order to understand their signals. This action was deemed against the NFL’s rules, even though it was not explicitly stated. This instance became the first of many to raise suspicion against the New England Patriots. To punish the Patriots, their tapes were destroyed by the NFL, and serious fines were imposed on them. Additionally, the team was stripped of its first-round draft pick in the next season. However, despite the backlash from spying, the Patriots still went on to go undefeated throughout the regular season, only losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. To be exposed for cheating and still go on to have one of the greatest seasons in NFL history brings the Patriots organization into question. Could the Patriots’ videotaping have contributed to the regular-season dominance? Could their dynasty’s other Super Bowl wins be attributed to the same method of cheating? Prior to the 2007-2008 NFL season, the Patriots had won three Super Bowls in 2002, 2004, and 2005. The discovery of their illegal videotaping leads football fans to wonder how much of their success was really skill.

The scandals don’t stop with Spygate, though. During the 2014 AFC Championship Game, another serious allegation was brought against the Patriots. Deflategate is the infamous controversy in question, regarding accusations that the team had deflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 18, 2015, against the Indianapolis Colts. The accusation of deflating balls was first brought up when D’Qwell Jackson, a Linebacker for the Colts, intercepted one of Brady’s throws. The Colts kept the ball and inspected that it had less pressure than their footballs. By half-time in the game, the Colts reported the issue to the officials, who initially began the investigation. The Patriots went on to win this game 45-7: an utter blowout in sports terminology. During the halftime investigation, however, the officials found that the New England Patriots were guilty of using footballs with less pressure than the NFL’s regulations. The team denied all accusations and stated the opposite in interviews after the fact. Many arguments during the investigation were brought up, such as the Colts’ statement that they had previously suspected the Patriots of using low-pressure balls. From the Patriots, their main defense was in blaming the weather for the pressure, as certain temperatures can cause a football to lose pressure. At the end of the investigation, the league ultimately announced on May 11, 2015, that Tom Brady would not be allowed to play for four games due to a failure to cooperate with the investigation despite knowing of the rigged footballs. Brady later appealed, and his suspension took place at the beginning of the 2016 regular season.

After the 2014 AFC Championship Game, the Patriots played in Super Bowl 49 on Feb. 1, 2015, going on to win the game. This win comes across as questionable to some because of the investigation brought before them in just the previous game. The Deflategate controversy brings another one of the Dynasty’s Super Bowl wins into question, causing widespread suspicion of the team.

In conclusion, while the Patriots contained great talent like Quarterback Tom Brady, there is clear evidence of the team’s cheating throughout scandals like Spygate and Deflategate. Could the team’s wins be attributed to bending the rules, and are they really the greatest dynasty if so? Much remains up to speculation, but the Patriots are clearly a team of high controversy at the very least.