The idea we stole from a reader (that a "black box"-style system should be used to save all headset communications) could be adopted by some teams. They all should do it. https://t.co/wzKwwml1F1

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 17, 2026

The “black box” idea could be adopted by some teams

In the aftermath of the Commanders’ overtime clock debacle against the Giants, it became impossible to figure out exactly what had happened. Especially with everyone involved taking the blame for it.

A reader had an idea that was good enough to steal and use: Teams should record and preserve all communications, like the “black box” on an airplane.

We floated that concept, and at least someone was listening.

“Yeah, it’s chaos,” an unnamed head coach told Albert Breer of SI. “The coordinator’s gotta have discipline. I mean, it is f*****g chaos. It’s like, ‘Everyone, shut the f**k up.’ Florio had a good one — they should black box the headsets. You could make a movie off of that shit.”

Maybe some teams already do it; if they do, they don’t advertise it. And those who may start doing it likely won’t make the communications available to the public.

Still, it’s critical for internal purposes. How can ownership (other than Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, who puts herself in the fray for precisely such seasons) know what truly happened when left to the inherent flaws of human memory, especially when things are happening in a chaotic environment and when human nature will prompt some to slip into a CYA posture?

It can’t be difficult to save the conversations, and it wouldn’t be expensive. As we learned on Sunday, it’s necessary to knowing how a strange situation unfolded. That knowledge could go a long way toward figuring out who has the true responsibility for the ensuing snafu, and how to best prevent it from happening again.