Jim Irsay blatantly denied former NFL head coach Bill Belichick's accusation of the Colts cheating in the past

With Peyton Manning, one half of the infamous Manning Cast on Monday Night Football, it's not uncommon for the Indianapolis Colts to be mentioned. But this past week, it came in a surprising fashion. Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick accused the team of pumping in fake crowd noise in the past.  Belichick went […]

Destin Adams NFL News Writer
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Jan 11, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots former head coach Bill Belichick holds a press conference at Gillette Stadium to announce his exit from the team.
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With Peyton Manning, one half of the infamous Manning Cast on Monday Night Football, it's not uncommon for the Indianapolis Colts to be mentioned. 

But this past week, it came in a surprising fashion. Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick accused the team of pumping in fake crowd noise in the past. 


Belichick went way back in time with this accusation, saying the Colts were pumping in fan noise in the RCA Dome, which is the stadium they played in prior to their current home, Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened in 2008. 

Before Lucas Oil Stadium was built, the Colts played in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis from 1984 to 2008. Belichick became the head coach of the Patriots in 2000 and remained with the franchise up until this offseason when the two sides "mutually parted ways." 

The Patriots and Colts played nine times between Belichick's hiring and the demolishment of the RCA dome in September 2008. Four of those matchups were in Indianapolis. Here are the results of those games. 

  • 10/22/2000: Colts 30 Patriots 23
  • 10/21/2001: Patriots 38 Colts 17
  • 11/30/2003: Patriots 38 Colts 34
  • 11/4/2007: Patriots 24 Colts 20

Belichick went 3-1 during the four games the Patriots played in the RCA Dome during his stint as the team's head coach. So if there was pumped in fan noise, it didn't seem to help the Colts all that much. It was quick, but he even went as far as to throw in some evidence he has to back his claim by saying, "When the crowd noise skipped, that's how we knew you were pumping it in." Here is a video clip shared on X that seems to be the noise-skipping that Belichick was referencing. 


However, Colts owner Jim Irsay didn't waste any time denying this accusation. He even went as far as to include an explanation for the noise skip in question, which can be seen in the video shared above.