Peyton Manning said he was paranoid the Patriots used to bug his locker

Peyton and Eli Manning are doing their own Monday Night Football broadcast this season, and the early returns have been incredibly encouraging. The brothers clearly have great chemistry together, and offer a little more fun than a typical announcing team. Week 1 featured Eli roasting Peyton over his big forehead, Peyton getting on the whiteboard to break down X’s and O’s, and a fire alarm going off during the middle of the game.

The Manning brothers are back for Week 2, and they once again came out swinging for the Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions game. Peyton said something during the first half that is sure to raise eyebrows across America, and leave viewers confused over whether he’s joking or not.

As the Packers were in the red zone, Eli asked Peyton about what it was like facing the New England Patriots during his playing days. Here’s Peyton’s response:

Here’s Peyton’s answer transcribed:

“Every time I played against New England, I used to go talk to my receivers in the shower in the far corner, I’m like ‘don’t talk about a play next to my locker, because I know it’s bugged. I know it’s got a hot mic in there.’”

The Patriots were famously at the center of “SpyGate” in 2007, a scandal that saw head coach Bill Belichick fined $500K and the team docked a first round pick after a league investigation showed New England videotaped signals from the Jets’ defensive coaches. The Patriots had another major scandal a few years later with DeflateGate.

Was Peyton joking about the Patriots, or was he seriously paranoid playing against Belichick’s team? While it’s hard to know, he did allege the Patriots of cheating again later in the game between the Packers and Lions.

So yeah: the ManningCast is a must-watch every week. We can’t wait to see what they’ll say next.