The Steelers think the Patriots cheated by tampering with headset communications on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. But the headsets haven’t been perfect in Pittsburgh, either.
After the Steelers beat the Jets in the AFC Championship Game in January of 2011, the Jets said they were having problems communicating at Heinz Field. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez said the problems were something he hadn’t previously encountered.
“It never really happened for that long of a time,” Sanchez said. “We had to use a walkie-talkie at one point and [offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer] was just yelling calls in at one point. It was just another challenge, and we almost overcame it.”
Sanchez said the headsets in Pittsburgh failed repeatedly.
“The problem was the headset kept going out multiple times during the game,” Sanchez said, “so I had to run over and get a couple calls, piece together some calls on the headset that came in broken up. It was one of those things we were fighting through. I was proud of our guys for trying to piece it together.”
So what’s the difference between that problem the Jets had in Pittsburgh, and the problem the Steelers had last night in New England? The biggest difference seems to be that the Jets didn’t accuse the Steelers of any wrongdoing, and Jets coach Rex Ryan said after the game that the communications issue wasn’t the reason the Jets lost the game. The Steelers haven’t been so accommodating toward the Patriots in the wake of last night’s loss.