Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The New England Patriots were exploiting small loopholes in the NFL rulebook to gain an advantage. I know, you are probably just as shocked as I am. But this one was actually pretty clever.
Fortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was banned just a day before their game at Gillette Stadium, according to Adam Schefter on X.
The NFL informed teams that the league has modified what can be shown on video boards during field goal and extra-point attempts, an alteration coming in the wake of a viral social-media post.
More via @MikeReiss and me:https://t.co/vtbFk38Kd4
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 19, 2026
“The NFL has long required all video and ribbon boards to display a static image — no flashing images, blinking effects, moving text/images etc. — or an All-22 view, such as the high-sideline or high-end-zone angle, during kicks,” Schefter and Mike Reiss wrote for ESPN. “What has now changed is that teams must use the same All-22 angle or static image for both kicking teams. The modification is designed to ensure competitive equity. Teams were warned that violations will result in discipline.”
So what were the Patriots actually doing?
Ryan Paganetti, an ex-NFL coach, posted a deep dive on X. The post has garnered 16.9 million views and counting, likely much more to come with this memo now issued.
“When opposing kickers lined up at Gillette Stadium, the video board displayed a reverse view of the kick, placing a second, offset set of yellow uprights directly behind the real ones,” he concluded, backed by a decade of footage review.
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
In other words, they were displaying clever camera tricks and mirror effects to disorient opposing kickers. Paganetti found dozens of examples of this happening when opposing teams lined up for a field goal and zero when it was the Patriots’ turn to kick.
Fishy. Too fishy. And apparently so fishy that it led the NFL to issue an official memo.
For what it’s worth, Chris Boswell seems immune to the effects of this clever trick having never missed a kick there in his career.
