Report: Following their defeat to the Chiefs, the Patriots informed the referees that their footballs were underinflated.
Report: Following their defeat to the Chiefs, the Patriots informed the referees that their footballs were underi…
Mark Daniels of MassLive reported on Wednesday night that the New England Patriots special teams unit complained to the referees at the intermission of their game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, stating that their kicking footballs felt underinflated.
The employees of New England’s locker room apparently found that their footballs were only weighing 11 pounds per square inch (PSI), despite the fact that they should weigh between 12.5 and 13.5 PSI.
The Chiefs and the Patriots were both impacted by the underinflated balls. In the first half, field goals were missed by Harrison Butker of the Chiefs and Chad Ryland of the Patriots using a lighter ball. Though the rookie kicker for the Patriots has missed a good number of kicks this season—just 13 of his 20 attempts have been successful—Butker has been almost flawless.
Butker had converted on all 23 of his efforts this season going into Sunday’s game in New England. During the first quarter, the veteran of seven years missed a 39-yard field goal to the right.
Butker’s kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks 87.1 percent of the time this season, so the Patriots coaching staff was taken off guard when Butker’s kicks went wide, allowing Jalen Reagor to gain 84 yards on three returns.
After the balls were inflated to the proper PSI, punters Tommy Townsend and Bryce Baringer also noticed the lightness of the balls, averaging six fewer yards per punt from the first to the second half.
The insider said to Daniels, “I don’t know at what point it was missed.” “I doubt they were leaking information. It was a predicament that was lessened in the second part.”
Teams are not permitted to use the kicking balls during pregame warmups according to NFL regulations. Unchecked by either team, the problem went unnoticed until the game began. The balls were inflated to the proper PSI before to the start of the second half after the Patriots voiced their concerns to the referees at halftime and it was confirmed that they were light.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a one-sided problem. It’s unclear how the balls got underinflated or whether they were thoroughly inspected before kickoff.
