Bill Belichick couldn’t resist reminding Peyton Manning of accusation that Colts used fake crowd noise

"When the crowd noise skipped, then that's how we knew they were pumping it in."

Bill Belichick has continued his busy media schedule by joining the ManningCast for Monday's Saints-Chiefs game. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

By Hayden Bird

October 8, 2024

3 minutes to read

The Patriots-Colts rivalry lives on: At the height of the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning era in the NFL, the rivalry between the Patriots and Colts was one of the best in the league.

Along with many great games between the two teams, there were some hilarious subplots as both New England and Indianapolis strived to gain every possible home-field advantage.

The Patriots, as was noted at the time, intentionally tried to worsen field conditions prior to a 2005 Divisional Round playoff game in order to slow down Manning and the Colts’ offense.

The Colts were also accused of employing unnatural circumstances to create an edge. Indianapolis was charged in 2007 (by the Patriots) with pumping in fake crowd noise to make the building even louder when New England’s offense was on the field and trying to communicate.

Officially, the Colts were eventually acquitted by a league investigation (with CBS claiming the extra noise heard on TV was “the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast.”)

But that didn’t stop Bill Belichick from bringing up the subject to Manning during Monday’s edition of the “ManningCast” amid the Saints-Chiefs game.

Asked by Manning how he simulated crowd noise for his players to practice before a big game, Belichick couldn’t resist his chance.

“I’ll tell you, Peyton, the crowd noise there at Arrowhead [Stadium] wasn’t as bad as when you guys piped in music at the RCA Dome,” joked Belichick.

“Ok, ok,” Manning responded dismissively.

Though New England’s accusations were not substantiated, Belichick provided an extra detail about how they became clued in about the unnatural level of noise.

“Then when the crowd noise skipped, then that’s how we knew they were pumping it in.”

Bill Belichick called out the Colts for pumping in fake crowd noise against the Pats 😭 @EliManning pic.twitter.com/9sKDLpVBT3
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 8, 2024

Belichick, now a regular on the offbeat ESPN broadcast for Monday Night Football, has already developed a humorous rapport with the Manning brothers.

In another segment, the subject of his famous “We’re on to Cincinnati” press conference was brought up. The 2014 moment, which stands as one of Belichick’s most memorable lines, elicited laughs from the longtime coach a decade after the fact.

“Our guys really responded and played well the next week, so thankfully they bailed me out on that one.”

Trivia: On this day in 2000, Bill Belichick’s Patriots defeated Peyton Manning’s Colts at the old Foxboro Stadium, 24-16. It was the second New England win of the Belichick era, improving the team’s record to 2-4. Three players completed passes for the Patriots that day. One was Drew Bledsoe, while the second was punter Lee Johnson (who pulled off an 18-yard completion on a fake punt). Can you name the third?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: It was a quarterback, but it was not Tom Brady.

Scores and schedules:

Tonight, the Connecticut Sun face a win-or-go-home Game 5 playoff matchup against the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA semi-final. The Sun will have to win on the road, with the game set to tip off at 8 p.m.

Also tonight, the Bruins are set to open the 2024-25 regular season in Florida against the Panthers at 7 p.m.

More from Boston.com:

A 2004 look-back: As part of an ongoing Red Sox Youtube series, members of the iconic 2004 team reflected on Game 2 of the 2004 ALDS against the Angels (a game which Boston won 8-3).

On this day: In 2018, the Red Sox clobbered the Yankees 16-1 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. Brock Holt produced a career day, hitting for the cycle and going 4-for-6 with five RBIs.

Daily highlight: Kerry Carpenter hit a clutch three-run home run to put the Tigers into the lead in the 9th inning of Game 2 of the ALDS matchup against the Guardians on Monday. Detroit won the game to tie the series at 1-1.