The Tennessee Titans managed an upset victory after being down 21-3 to the Kansas City Chiefs this past weekend. The 22-21 win over the Chiefs has set the Titans up to face the New England Patriots this Saturday (Jan. 13) in the AFC divisional round. Besides illegal taping of defense’s signals and Tom Brady’s deflated footballs, headset problems for opposing teams is something that NFL franchises have complained about when playing in Gillette Stadium. Will Marcus Mariota and the Titans experience headset issues this weekend? Here is a lowdown of teams that have experienced headset malfunctions in Foxboro.

Mike Tomlin lost it in 2015

When Mike Tomlin was interviewed after a Patriots-Steelers regular season game in 2015, Tomlin did not hold back on discussing headset issues. Said Tomlin, as stated on CBS Sports, every time the Steelers play in New England, their headsets go out. The Pittsburgh coach also said that the headsets were tuned into the Patriots' radio broadcast for most of the first half of the game. Tomlin was angry that the headset malfunction interfered with communication between coaches.

The NFL stated that New England had the same problem in that game and attributed the headset problems to a stadium power infrastructure problem that was made worse by bad weather. The NFL is the organization that gives coaching headsets to both teams to use for each game.

The Titans have not played the Patriots as much as other teams, nor have they been much of an AFC competitor before this 2017 season. Therefore, any possible headset foul play on behalf of the Patriots organization or the NFL when the two teams have played each other would not make much sense.

Falcons experienced headset issues in Super Bowl

For football fans who watched the Super Bowl last year, it is hard to forget how the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead over the Patriots. However, quarterback Matt Ryan claimed that headset issues cropped up on him during a crucial moment in the game. According to Ryan, as stated on SB Nation, he could not hear the plays that came in during the final minute of regulation.

This forced the Falcons to use a timeout and to spike the football to stop the clock on a later play. The Super Bowl would go down as the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. However, the greatest comeback in NFL history still belongs to the Buffalo Bills, who managed to rally from a 35-3 deficit against the Houston Oilers in the 1993 Wildcard game. The Bills won 41-38.

Andy Reid complained of headset problems

When the Chiefs played the Patriots in the playoffs last year, Andy Reid complained of headset problems. Like Tomlin, Reid said issues occurred in the first half of the game. The headsets that connected quarterback Alex Smith with coaches cut out. Reid also said that the headsets worked okay in the last few minutes of the game.

If the Tennessee Titans experience headset problems this weekend, they would be added to the long list of teams experiencing headset issues in Foxboro. If any technical issues pop up, Mariota can use his famous go-to play. The quarterback throws the ball, watches it bounce off a defender, catches it, and runs it in for a touchdown. It worked last week against the Chiefs.

Good luck, Tennessee Titans.
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