/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47170948/usa-today-8792551.0.jpg)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was very candid when talking about the issue with the team's headsets on the sideline during the 28-21 loss to the New England Patriots Thursday night. Tomlin said after the game, in regards to having headset issues in Foxborough, it is "always the case". Despite allegations of the Patriots purposefully altering the Steelers signals from coach-to-coach headsets, the NFL has backed the Patriots by clearing them of any wrong doing.
Following the incident, NFL spokesman Michael Signora said the league believes the problem "involved no manipulation by any individual and that the Patriots had nothing to do with it."
The statement continued saying the problem was "entirely attributable to an electrical issue made worse by the inclement weather" and that the league "will continue to review the matter to determine if there are technical steps that can be taken to avoid similar problems from occurring in other games."
The situation got extremely suspicious when the Steelers made their issue known to the league. NFL policy states if one coaching staff loses their communication devices, the other team should also lose their communication until the issue is resolved. Reports claim the NFL went to the Patriots' sideline to turn off their devices, and as that happened the issue with the Steelers headsets cleared up. As the league officials viewed the situation as resolved, as soon as they left the New England sideline the issues returned to the Pittsburgh coaching staff's headsets.
Although it was falsely reported the Steelers were going to file a formal complaint with the league, the organization has since said they will not be filing such a report.
As for the Patriots, head coach Bill Belichick said they had communication issues on their sideline as well throughout the game.
"They told us they were on the verge of shutting it off, but then I guess they got it working," Belichick said. "I don't know, but it was a problem the whole game. We almost had to switch helmets with [Patriots quarterback Tom] Brady there at the end. Couldn't get the plays in to him. It was a problem all night."
The NFL might have tried to stomp out the next scandal involving the Patriots, but with their history, fans can't help but draw the obvious conclusions between the organization and their methods to always find an edge to win.