8 Ridiculous Ways The Patriots 'Cheated' Against The Steelers
BOSTON (CBS) -- Get used to this, Patriots fans.
Your team is viewed as nothing but a bunch of dirty cheaters by fans in literally every other region in the country, and in the wake of DeflateGate and ESPN's smear campaign the microscope will be on the team like never before.
The latest controversy? Malfunctioning headsets. A longtime issue at Gillette Stadium and problem at other NFL stadiums, faulty radio frequencies from the NFL-operated (and I can't stress that part enough) headsets isn't a new problem. But when it happens on primetime with all eyes on the Patriots - and the Steelers' interrupted signal happens to be Scott Zolak - fingers were inevitably (immediately, really) pointed right at the home team.
"HeadsetGate" will ultimately be a non-issue in terms of alleged "cheating" by the Patriots, especially since the Steelers don't plan to file a complaint to the NFL - which, again, controls the headsets during games. But that won't stop fans live-tweeting the game from going wild and coming up with all kinds of other cockamamie "scandals" whenever anything went the Patriots' way.
This will happen during every Patriots game, and especially those that take place in Gillette Stadium: whenever anything goes wrong for the other team, people will wonder how the Patriots pulled one on them. They even might be serious, like this guy above appears to be. Their ability to grasp at straws would make Stretch Armstrong blush.
Now don't get all riled up, Patriots Nation - these are joke tweets (hopefully). No need to feel persecuted or besmirched or smeared over these. All you can do is laugh at the inanity of the inevitable made-up cheating scandals (and you best believe they're going to come after every single game), and sit back and see how tinfoil hat-y people can get.
That said, here are the many ways the Patriots "cheated" in their 28-21 win over the Steelers...
1. Is having Gronk fair? There's gotta be a rule against him somewhere.
2. Speaking of Gronk, how about the other tight ends? Their 4-tight end set can't possibly be a legal formation.
3. The Patriots did a defensive shift that you see every Sunday? Clear deception.
4. Josh Scobee missed two field goals? Clearly Patriots mind games.
5. Heavy rain? Clearly Bill Belichick is a secret member of the HAARP.
6. Darrius Heyward-Bey couldn't get both feet in bounds? Check that chalk!
7. Patriots recovered a fumble? Bring back DeflateGate!
8. And what exactly is that Ernie Adams guy up to, anyway?
So there you have it, folks: not one, not two, but EIGHT ways the Patriots cheated the Steelers out of a victory. Might as well ban them from the Super Bowl now.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for CBSBostonSports.com and schadenfreude curator. Read more from Matt here and follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff.
