“Bill Belichick slams Peyton Manning over Patriots-Colts crowd noise theory.”

The New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts engage in epic battles in a heated rivalry in the 2000s. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's Patriots are locked in a battle for AFC supremacy with Peyton Manning's Colts.

For a time until the end of the 2007 season, the Colts played their home games in the closed RCA Dome. That included the 2006 AFC Championship Game, where the Colts overcame a 21-3 deficit to beat New England 38-34 before winning Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears.

Just 10 months later, the teams met in Super Bowl 41.5 with undefeated records, with the Patriots pulling off a 24-20 comeback victory. That November game sparked rumors that Indianapolis created artificial crowd noise when the Patriots went on offense. Belichick certainly didn't forget that and gave the former Colts quarterback a playful swipe during “Monday Night Football” when the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the New Orleans Saints.

“Bill, how do you simulate crowd noise when you play against these guys?” Manning asked.

“I'm telling you, Peyton, the crowd noise there at Arrowhead wasn't as bad as it was when you played music at the RCA Dome,” Belichick replied. “When the crowd noise died down, we knew you pumped it in.”

Belichick and Manning will meet again each week during the 2024 NFL season on the first half of the “Manningcast” on ESPN2.