'They Cheated Me!': Patriots' Pittsburgh Foe Recalls AFC Title Loss

“I can remember going into the game, and they knew the plays before we did,” Brooks told host Bill Colarulo. “I can hear all of those guys, Rodney Harrison say, ‘Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw.’ Then Ben (Roethlisberger) comes in, he calls a draw play and I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ Tedy Bruschi knowing the play, ‘Hey, hey, hey—they’re going to sprint to the right, sprint to the right.’"

Three years after the game, an NFL investigation into the Patriots' alleged recording of opponents' practices and coaching signals charged them a first-round pick and a combined $750,000 in fines against both Belichick and the team. A deeper look at the game, however, perhaps hints that the Steelers had their own problems to deal with.

On paper, the Steelers kept up with the Patriots, outgaining them 388-322 and holding the ball for 31:31. Turnovers proved to be their downfall: Roethlisberger threw three interceptions while Jerome Bettis lost a fumble, and those four giveaways yielded 24 Patriots points, including an 87-yard pick-six for Harrison. 

That's not enough to convince Brooks that New England meddling denied the football world a clash of Pennsylvania-based titans in the 39th Super Bowl: after disposing of the top-seeded Steelers, the Patriots took down the NFC's No. 1, the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.

Brooks didn't have to wait long for a Lombardi Trophy of his own: he and the Steelers topped Seattle in Super Bowl XL the year after. 

But he claims he should have two rings. 

"(They moved) an entire defense over because they knew our plays before it happened. So yeah, they cheated me," he declared. "I should have two Super Bowls now. We were supposed to be in that Super Bowl against the Eagles. This was all Pennsylvania Super Bowl.”

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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