Patriots Cheated in Super Bowl XXXIX?

Super Bowl 39. In Eagles fans memories, it goes down as the one they let get away. Everybody remembers how turnovers were crucial mistakes, and how the Eagles apparently forgot how to run the 2 minute offense at the end of the game down ten points.

This painful memory still haunts Philadelphia fans today. Some still seek answers, as to what went wrong in the big game, and many choose not to relive that game ever again. I don't blame them. Until now.

The news has come out, that the New England Patriots are cheaters. In a nasty scandal dubbed "Spygate", the Patriots were caught red handed, stealing defensive signals from their opponent.

Many ask now, how long has this been going on?

Who knows. Many teams have accused the Pats of doing this very thing before, but there has never been any hard evidence until now. Hopefully more details can be dug up.

I am sure Eagles fans only want to know one thing.

Did the Patriots cheat in the Super Bowl?

That is an answer that nobody will probably ever know, except the Patriots themselves. When you look at how that game played out though, the circumstantial evidence appears to be there.

While there were many factors, that decided that game, I am going to only focus on the Patriots offense, against the Eagles defense. In that aspect, it was a tale of two halves.

In the first half of the game, the Eagles defense was playing great. They were swarming to the ball, breaking up passes, getting sacks, disrupting Brady, and they even forced a fumble in the red zone. They had tamed the Pats offense, and at the end of the half, the score was tied at 7.

Then came the third quarter. The Patriots came out a different team, and were suddenly advancing the ball at will. It seemed that for every Jim Johnson blitz, the Patriots executed the perfect screen to beat it. Brady was suddenly able to hit Deon Branch almost at will, and the Eagles defense was on their heels.

What was so different in the second half?

The Patriots knew what the Eagles defense was doing, because they had stolen their signals. Just like the Jets game, they had somebody record all the defensive signals in the first half, and matched them up to the sky shots that are given by every team, to see what a defense is doing every play.

With this information, they knew what the defense was doing before they even walked to the line of scrimmage. They had an unfair competitive advantage, and I believe it cost the Eagles, and the city of Philadelphia a championship.

Now you might say that I am being a homer, or that this post is just sour grapes, but think outside the box for a minute. Could this have really happened?

If you even paused to think about it, then there is some doubt in your mind. The possibility exists, and I feel it happened. Can I prove it? No, but hopefully commissioner Roger Goodell does a very extensive investigation. There is a chance that more evidence could surface, and back up my point.

I know that the Eagles will not be handed the Lombardi no matter what, and that many other things factored into that horrible defeat, but it just angers me that the Eagles season of destiny was possibly stolen away from them.