NFL Issues Statement Regarding Headset Issues in Patriots-Steelers Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers experienced problems with their headsets during the first quarter of Thursday night's 28-21 loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, when audio from the Patriots' radio broadcast was being relayed to the Steelers coaches.

The NFL issued a statement from spokesman Michael Signora (via Sports Illustrated's Greg A. Bedard):

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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 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.

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The league also plans to conduct a "thorough review" of the allegations, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal passed along Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's statement on the claims: 

According to Bob Labriola of Steelers.com, the radio issue is something that isn't uncommon at Gillette Stadium:

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This is the kind of stuff that happens to the visiting team in Gillette Stadium all the time. From the start of the game through the opening 14 minutes of the first quarter, the Steelers’ coaches’ headsets were receiving the Patriots Radio Network broadcast of the game. The broadcast was so loud that the Steelers coaches were unable to communicate, and the NFL rule is that if one team’s headsets are not working the other team is supposed to be forced to take their headsets off. It’s what the NFL calls the Equity Rule. Strangely enough, whenever an NFL representative proceeded to the New England sideline to shut down their headsets, the Steelers headsets cleared. Then as the representative walked away from the New England sideline, the Steelers’ headsets again started to receive the Patriots game broadcast.

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Although the league argued that the issue was solved in relatively short order, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin felt differently, per Fox Sports' Jimmy Traina:

Ben Roethlisberger, however, denied the headset problem had any sort of bearing on the game, per Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke:

As enjoyable as it is to envision Belichick instructing a low-level Patriots employee to somehow jam the Steelers' radios, this appears to be the NFL's fault—if you can blame anybody. The headsets are NFL property, and the league controls the communication lines.

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reported this isn't the first time teams have complained about headset issues in New England; the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005, Detroit Lions in 2006, Cincinnati Bengals in 2006, and Arizona Cardinals in 2008 all reported similar problems with their headsets. 

The timing of the problem is somewhat coincidental, given this week's report from Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham of ESPN, but it's a bit of a stretch to say New England intentionally sabotaged Pittsburgh's radios.