On December 8th 2019 the Cleveland Browns faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. The Browns ultimately defeated the Bengals but the headlines were made off the field. The National Football League announced they will be investigating a member of the New England Patriots organization for filming the Cincinnati Bengals sideline. The Patriots videographer David Mondillo was filming background footage for the advanced scouting department installment in the “Do your Job” documentary produced by Kraft Sports and Entertainment. Mondillo stopped to use the restroom and when he returned he was told by people from the NFL and Bengals organization to stop filming.The Patriots informed the Browns that a camera crew would be present at the game but did not communicate this news to the Cincinnati Bengals or the NFL. The NFL found the Patriots film crew filming the Bengals sideline from a press box. They reviewed the tape and said it featured about eight minutes of the Bengals sideline. This all happening the week before the Patriots were set to matchup against the Bengals. The NFL has strict rules prohibiting teams from filming opposing teams sidelines. Now this would be big news for any team but especially for the New England Patriots because this is not their first scandal. In 2007 the Patriots videotaped the New York Jets defensive signals from an unauthorized location. Videotaping opposing coaches is legal but the cameras must be in a certain area for that to happen. Commissioner Roger Goodell found the Patriots filming to be in direct violation of the league’s rules and fined the Patriots organization $250,000 and fined head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 (the maximum fine for an individual). The Patriots were also stripped of the 2008 First round draft pick which ended up being pick 31. The two situations are too similar for comfort, In a statement released by Mondillo it states “ I had no intention to provide footage to football operations, I did not provide any footage, and I was never asked to do so”. The NFL has a copy of the film recorded by the Patriots film crew. In the eight minute clip it shows many signs and signals from the Bengals team. If the NFL decides to punish the Patriots the possible punishments could range from a fine to a draft pick swiped. The Patriots organization acknowledges that they violated a policy. The team said that the film crew “unknowingly violated a league policy by filming the field and sideline from the press box”. When caught, David Mondillo said he could just delete the footage. The member of the Bengals who caught him explained “the damage is done my friend. It was later determined that the Patriots could not have gotten any competitive advantage from the film. How have the Bengals responded to this situation? Head Coach Zac Taylor said he is aware of the situation and knows the NFL is investigating it. The Patriots ended up beating the Bengals with a final score of 34-13. Andy Dalton threw for interceptions 2 to J.C. Jackson and the other two to Stephon Gilmore which one was returned for a touchdown. This game was a very strong outing from the Patriots who have had their struggles this year despite being 11-3. The Patriots are set to square off against the Buffalo Bills this week, a win would give the Patriots their 11th straight AFC East division Title. The NFL is still investigating the incident.