Antonio Smith: 'Spying comments not serious'

Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith has said that his comments suggesting that the New England Patriots' comeback win was down to spying should not be taken seriously.

Smith made the remark as the Patriots produced a fine comeback with the help of Tom Brady to amass 27 points by half time and win the game 34-31.

"I'm sorry I said the word spying because of a prior engagement of them being caught spying," Smith told reporters.

"Though it may be something I was curious about, that kind of didn't seem right, like how all of a sudden the change here?

"It wasn't a serious matter to where I was thinking, 'Aw man, they're spying on us, they're cheating'."

The Patriots were embroiled in a spying scandal in 2007 when they were accused of videotaping an opponent's use of signals.