"Hell yeah, they was cheating": Steelers legend James Harrison accuses Patriots of foul play

Pittsburgh Steelers legend James Harrison accused the New England Patriots of cheating in the 2004 AFC Championship game, where the Patriots cruised to a 41-27 win. New England then won the Super Bowl, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21.

However, looking back on the game, Harrison believes the Patriots did cheat.

"Hell yeah, they was cheating," Harrison said on Cameron Heyward's podcast, via CBS. "They only missed one blitz, man, where previously, when we beat New England and Philly, they couldn't see the broad side of a barn."

Harrison isn't the only player who accused the Patriots of cheating in that game. Former Steelers running back and Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis said New England had all their signs.

"They had our signs, and they called a timeout to get them ready for that play because they knew it was coming," Bettis said on former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's podcast. "No question in my mind."

Roethlisberger also agreed with Bettis that the Pats illegally stole their signs during the AFC Championship Game.

Former Steelers coach once shut down James Harrison and other players' complaints of cheating

Although James Harrison and several other players have accused the Patriots of cheating during the 2004 AFC Championship game, former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher shot down the idea of New England cheating.

Instead, the Hall of Fame coach said it was only cheating if they got caught. He also didn't think he lost to New England because of Spygate.

"It's only cheating if you get caught," Cowher said in a 2021 interview with The Athletic. "Like any player, if you're going to hold him, don't get caught. If you get caught, you're wrong, if you don't, you're right. I always thought we never lost the games to New England because of Spygate.

"If [Belichick] got the calls because we didn't do a very good job of making sure we signaled those in, that's on us, it's not on him. Because we're always looking for competitive edges."

The Steelers ended up winning the Super Bowl in 2006 and 2009.

Harrison is a two-time Super Bowl champion who has also won one Defensive Player of the Year award and made five Pro Bowl appearances. He ended his career with 811 tackles, 84.5 sacks, 34 forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries and eight interceptions.