Surely you remember Spygate and Deflategate. But what about Headsetgate?
That, of course, was the label slapped on the controversy stemming from the NFL’s 2015 kickoff game, in which the Pittsburgh Steelers experienced headset problems during their season-opening loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was vocal at the time that such issues were “always the case” in Foxboro, where the Patriots have dominated for the better part of two decades, but he doesn’t sound too worried about enduring similar technical difficulties when the teams square off this Sunday night in New England.
“I’m not overly concerned about that,” Tomlin said Tuesday, via the Steelers’ website. “We have technicians, and the league has technicians on site. That’s their area of expertise. I’m gonna worry about preparing and coaching the football team.”
The NFL released a statement in wake of the 2015 season opener saying the Patriots had nothing to do with the headset-related drama, but that didn’t stop conspiracy theorists from grasping at straws. Tomlin said Steelers coaches heard the Patriots’ radio broadcast in their headsets for the majority of the first half of that September 2015 showdown, and some hypersensitive football fans couldn’t help but wonder whether Bill Belichick and Co. were up to some funny business.
This will mark the Steelers’ second game in Foxboro since the headset controversy, as Pittsburgh lost to New England in the 2016 AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium, paving the way for the Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Tomlin didn’t say whether there were any headset issues in that playoff contest, although it’s worth noting a fire alarm was pulled at the Steelers’ hotel at around 3 a.m. before the game.
All told, Tomlin and the Steelers actually seem rather fired up to begin their 2019 slate on the road against the Patriots, who are coming off their sixth Super Bowl title in franchise history. It could be a good litmus test for both teams right out of the gate.
“Cooks like to be in the kitchen,” Tomlin said. “These guys are competitors. It’s a competitive environment up there. I’d like to change some of those outcomes, but the only one we can control is the one that lies in front of us.”
The Patriots and Steelers will kick things off at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday night. Hopefully, all electronic devices function properly from start to finish to avoid any unnecessary quarrels.
