‘No rule, no cheating’: Readers react to the Pats video-board trick

The New England Patriots kick off their season Wednesday evening against the Seattle Seahawks, and fans will be watching to see whether the team has any new tricks up its sleeve, as it has in seasons past.

Ahead of tonight’s opener, a recent revelation about one of those tricks has reignited discussion among Patriots fans and rivals alike. In a post on X on Sept. 1, NFL strategy and analytics coach Ryan Paganetti discovered a decades-long clever tactic utilized by the Patriots to distract the opposing team’s kicker.

Paganetti said the Patriots would show a reversed view of the field on the video board behind the goalposts — from a kicker’s perspective, that meant there appeared to be “a second, offset set of yellow uprights directly behind the real ones.”

Much has been made of the Patriots’ mysterious “Pink Stripes.” How about yellow ones?

I went through more than a decade of TV broadcasts and uncovered a diabolically clever piece of Patriots gamesmanship.

When opposing kickers lined up at Gillette Stadium, the video board… pic.twitter.com/Y5nf0F5vm6

— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 2, 2026

The post had 16.9 million views as of Wednesday afternoon. An NFL spokesperson told The Boston Globe that what the Patriots did was legal — and still is.

“All video and ribbon boards must show either a static image (e.g. no flashing images, blinking effects, moving text/images, etc.) or an All-22 view (e.g., high sideline, high end zone, etc.) during field goal attempts and extra point attempts,” the NFL policy reads, according to the Globe. “Any flashing, moving, or blinking text/images displayed on video boards or ribbon boards during field goal attempts and extra points are considered a violation of this policy.”

When we asked Boston.com readers if the Patriots cheated by displaying reverse images of the goal posts to confuse kickers, respondents largely said “no,” it wasn’t cheating — just gamesmanship.

“In order for it to be cheating, there needs to be a rule that states it is not allowed,” reader Ted B. argued. “There is no rule. No rule, no cheating,” he added. 

But those in the opposing camp (29%) who said it was cheating argued the tactic is deceptive and unfair.

“Why not just try to behave like other professional sport organizations that act with integrity? Does it feel good messing with opponents?” asked Alex of Lynn.

Below, readers share their thoughts on the Patriots’ video board tactic.

Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

Do you think the Patriots cheated?

No

“Borderline. But it’s done by other teams and never hailed by the NFL or other coaches as unfair. Distraction? Possibly. Illegal? No ruling.” — David D., Milford

“I will accept that the practice falls under the definition of gamesmanship. The ones who call it cheating are either 1.) fans of other NFL teams and therefore longtime Patriot haters, or 2) never played a competitive game. Belichick in many ways was the genius successor to Red Auerbach, and he knew that working the margins left unexplored by other coaches could mean one or two wins in a season. He knew his success in this area would eventually get into the heads of rival coaches and players, to the point that they would be distracted thinking what dastardly new twist would be inflicted upon them at a critical point in a game.” — Vincent L., Quincy

“It’s not in the rules. Heh-heh!” — Charlie, North Shore

“The League says it’s not so it’s not. The whole notion of cheating is a little ridiculous in that all games are filled with violations of the rules. They are referred to as ‘penalties.’ Some are called, many are not.” — Terence R., Revere

“Just poor sportsmanship.” — Chip, Northampton

“Every kicker looks at the real posts, lines up and kicks the ball while looking at it. He’s not watching the jumbotron screen!” — Kevin, Weymouth

“As a former kicker it made no difference. You block everything out and concentrate on your mechanics.” — James, Attleboro

Yes

“Because it’s sneaky and underhanded, and elite coaching should not have to resort to such tactics.” — Erin, Nashua, New Hampshire

“The fans should be the only ones creating a distraction, not something that is manufactured. That just feels wrong and not in the spirit of fair play.” — Bob H., Melrose

“Unless every stadium can duplicate this, it feels like cheating.” — Andy O., Cambridge

“Every Patriot fan would be outraged if the shoe were on the other foot.” — Duane S.

“If there were a middle option such as ‘dishonest,’ then I would have chosen that. Cheating can be defined as ostensibly or explicitly illegal. This is not. But it is deceptive and does not respect the principle of a level playing field. Now that it has been brought to light, we will see if the league takes action which will only validate what is clear: this is not honest play. But it is clever.” — Jon K., Costa Rica (formerly of Foxborough)

Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.