WATCH: Peyton Manning takes Patriots jab with Spygate joke

During his Monday Night Football broadcast with his brother, Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning took a jab at the New England Patriots, stating that his locker room was bugged when he played in Foxboro.

Peyton Manning on bugged locker rooms and the Patriots. pic.twitter.com/kK99qAIkVg

— Justin Groc (@justgroc) September 21, 2021

During the telecast of the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers Monday Night Football game, Manning took a jab at the organization he faced off against 19 times in his career.

“Eli, I feel like our conversation the other day was bugged, kinda like when we play the Patriots back in the day,” Manning said.

He didn’t stop there.

“Whenever we played in Foxboro I told my receivers, ‘Don’t talk about a play next to my locker — because I know it’s bugged,’” Peyton Manning said.

Spygate reference

In 2007, in the midst of an undefeated season, a 26-year-old New England video assistant named Matt Estrella was caught capturing hand signals from the defensive coaches’ signals from an unauthorized location, an incident that became known as “Spygate”.

After an investigation, NFL  commissioner Roger Goodell fined New Englands Patriots head coach Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000. The Patriots also had to forfeit their first-round pick in the 2008 draft.

Peyton Manning record against Patriots

In 17 seasons, Peyton Manning faced off against the Patriots 19 times and won just six of those matchups.

Manning’s face-offs with the Patriots often took center stage as a rivalry developed between him and long-time New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who played 20 seasons in Foxboro.

Against Brady, Manning held a 6-11 record, but got the best of Brady in the playoffs, with a 3-2 record.

Peyton Manning defeated Brady in the playoffs in the 2006 AFC Championship, the 2013 AFC Championship and the 2016 AFC Championship, which was the final matchup between the two legendary quarterbacks.

Manning had a winning record against Brady away from Foxboro, with a 4-3 record against Brady overall and a 3-0 record in the playoffs, potentially adding validity to Manning’s accusations that the locker rooms in Foxboro were bugged.

Peyton and Eli Manning debuted an alternate broadcast for Monday Night Football on ESPN2, “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli Manning,” for the 2021 NFL season. The alternate broadcast combines analysis and commentary from the two legendary brothers, and special guests. In the first Monday Night Football broadcast, guests included NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.