Giants Fined, Have Draft Pick Downgraded For Using Walkie-Talkies

During the fourth quarter of the Giants’ Week 14 win over the Cowboys, Ben McAdoo’s headset malfunctioned, causing him to begin relaying plays to quarterback Eli Mannig via walkie-talkie. The Cowboys complained, the NFL investigated, and now the Giants have been hit with a fairly hefty punishment:

Under league rules, communication between a quarterback and his sideline must end when there are 15 seconds left on the play clock. There’s no way to enforce that rule when a team is using walkie-talkies instead of the standard-issue headsets, and so McAdoo could have conceivably been talking to Manning up to and throughout a handful of plays during the fourth quarter.

Please prepare yourself for a few solid weeks of Patriots fans screaming about how Roger Goodell was too lenient on the Giants.