Steelers vs. Patriots: New England rolls at home in 2015 NFL opener

He’s far from the only one. While headset issues aren’t exclusive to Gillette Stadium, the Patriots seem to get in the headlines for visiting team equipment malfunctions more than any other and by a significant margin.

Following the 2005 season, the Jaguars traveled to New England and lost, 28-3. “Radio chatter from Patriots security staff” interfered with the Jaguars’ communication and the problems seemed to occur during “crucial moments” in the game.

It was a rainy, wet night at Foxboro for the NFL season opener on Thursday and most in attendance were bundled up with layers and ponchos. Bill Belichick wasn’t nearly as bothered, in fact based on what he wore to the post game press conference it appears Belichick was more bothered by having to wear pants.

Here is how Bill dressed for the game:

So here’s what happened next: the Steelers drove down the field, and Scobee missed a 46-yard field goal. Then, Brady hit Gronkowski for a 6-yard touchdown pass. That’s two missed field goals for the Steelers and two Brady-to-Gronkowski touchdowns before the end of the first half.

Pittsburgh closed the gap further with another Scobee field goal, but showed once again it had no answer for the Patriots on defense when Brady hit Gronkowski for a 52-yard pass and then capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown to -- you guessed it -- Gronkowski.

The Steelers didn’t get off to the best start against the Patriots, but down 21-11 in the third quarter they were driving.

That’s when this happened. This does not look possible, but apparently it is.

During Thursday night’s NFL opener between the Steelers and the Patriots, NBC’s Michele Tafoya reported that Pittsburgh’s coaching staff struggled to use their headsets when their radio signal got crossed with a Patriots broadcast.

Tafoya said during the first quarter that the communication system connecting Pittsburgh’s coaches was effected, with a New England radio broadcast “bleeding in,” preventing the coaches from adequately communicating. The “bleeding” didn’t occur on the coach-to-player headsets. In-game reporting made no mention of any issues on New England’s sideline.

Guess how that ended...

So here is what we’ve learned: you should cover Rob Gronkowski.

It has been a long offseason and Antonio Brown has a lot of energy and focus built up. He used a whole bunch of it to make this catch.

That was a really impolite way for Antonio Brown to inform Malcolm Butler that he is very strong and good at football. Butler would do well to remember that.

The 2015 NFL season began Thursday night, which meant one final party to celebrate the Super Bowl champions before the regular season starts and the attention turns to the next year. Like every championship team ever, the Patriots raised a banner:

That part was normal. The rest of the celebration got a little weird.

Antonio Brown has developed into one of the best receivers in the NFL. He’s good enough that he’s officially reached the level where he can do about whatever he wants. Evidenced by this:

That is an intentional haircut and not some weird training camp hazing, we checked. Brown actually instructed someone to cut his hair like that.

If there is one franchise in the world with a right to be upset with the NFL and the way things operate there, obviously it’s New England. The oft-maligned Patriots have had a long offseason, with all the drama surrounding their shy, innocent quarterback and what he does with his balls. They were finally ready to take a stand Thursday night in the opening game of the NFL season.

Instead of raising the banner for their fourth, possibly cheating-supported Super Bowl, they were going to raise a banner in honor of their quarterback. Tom Brady, a name not many people know due to his quiet nature and by-the-rulebook behavior, almost missed out on the game due to the evil NFL. His team was ready to support him.

The Steelers and Patriots have split their last four games against each other. They last played in 2013.

When: 8:30 p.m. ET

Both teams faced tumultuous offseasons, with the Patriots dealing with DeflateGate and the Steelers losing players to retirement and injuries. As the regular season gets going, both organizations are looking for some calm consistency on the field, and it all starts with their reliable quarterbacks.

Running the ball, on the other hand, might be an issue. LeGarrette Blount is suspended for the Steelers game due to a positive drug test, leaving Brandon Bolden and Dion Lewis to carry the load.

Over at CBS Sports, all but one of the panelists picked the Patriots to roll.

SB Nation’s team is all-in on New England, as well. Each and ever member has the Patriots taking home the W over the Steelers.

With the NFL appealing the ruling, the official end of the DeflateGate saga is still far on the horizon, but for now, the Patriots will have their star quarterback at the helm when the team plays host to the Steelers on Thursday night.

That represents a big challenge for Pittsburgh, a team that was among the NFL’s worst at slowing opposing passers in 2014. Only three teams allowed more passing touchdowns and only five allowed more passing yardage, while the Patriots finished in the top 10 in both categories offensively.

Winning back-to-back titles is tough, though. It’s only been done eight times since the first Super Bowl in 1967. But the last team to do it is a familiar one -- the Patriots following the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

After unveiling their Super Bowl banner to the partisan Gillette Stadium crowd, the Patriots will have to put last year behind them and focus on their next test. The Steelers have high expectations coming into the season, but the Patriots have dominated this series recently, winning eight of the past 11 matchups, including victories in the 2001 and 2004 AFC Championship games en route to their first two Super Bowl titles. The last time these two rivals met in a Week 1 matchup was Sept. 9, 2002, when the Patriots christened Gillette Stadium with a 30-14 win on Monday Night Football.