The Steelers' Headsets Pick Up Patriots' Radio Broadcast, Communications Blocked

On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots were having technical difficulties during this year's season opener; the Steelers' headsets were picking up the Patriots' radio broadcast. Seems like the Patriots just can't catch a break. Luckily, the Steelers won't be filing a complaint with the NFL.

According to ESPN and CNN, Steelers' head coach, Mike Tomlin, admitted that headset issues occur quite frequently in New England.

Although the headset issue was not a complete system failure, and the Patriots' coaches were not required to turn off their headsets during the repairs, the Patriots claimed to have experiences issues as well: "We had a lot of problems," Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots said. "We had to switch headphones a couple of times. The communication system wasn't very good. We deal with that, it seems, weekly."

"They told us they were on the verge of shutting it off, but then I guess they got it working. I don't know, but it was a problem the whole game. We almost had to switch helmets with [Tom] Brady there at the end. Couldn't get the plays in to him. It was a problem all night."

On Thursday night, NFL spokesman Michael Signora released a statement and said that the league provides both of the teams' communications equipment:

"In the first quarter of tonight's game, the Pittsburgh coaches experienced interference in their headsets caused by a stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather," the statement read. "The coaches' communications equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the NFL for both clubs' use on game day. Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional issues."

ESPN later revealed a detailed report about some of the tricks the New England Patriots have allegedly used to remain the best team in the league since Spygate. One aspect of the report was quite similar to the situation that took place on Thursday:

"At Gillette Stadium, the scrambling and jamming of the opponents' coach-to-quarterback radio line -- 'small s---' that many teams do, according to a former Pats assistant coach -- occurred so often that one team asked a league official to sit in the coaches' box during the game and wait for it to happen. Sure enough, on a key third down, the headset went out."

Considering the recent conspiracies regarding Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension being nullified, there could be a chance that this headset issue was not completely a coincidence. Especially given the Patriots' not-so-clean past.

However, regardless of the conspiracy theories, the Steelers won't be filing a complaint with the NFL, according to ESPN, "We have provided information to NFL representatives regarding issues that occurred Thursday night at Gillette Stadium with our coach-to-coach headset communications system," Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said in a statement. "The problem was addressed during the game and we did not have further problems in the second half. We did not file a formal complaint, nor do we plan to do so."