Belichick says kicking balls for Chiefs, Patriots underinflated،
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the footballs used in the first half of Sunday's 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs were “underinflated 2.2½ pounds,” and he took it to the NFL. why this was the case for both teams.
“We had nothing to do with it. Were we aware of it? Yeah, definitely,” Belichick said. “As I understand it, they were all the same. I don't know what the explanation is. It was the same for both teams.
“We should talk to the league about what happened on that. That part, they're in control.”
MassLive.com first reported on the underinflated footballs. According to league rules, footballs are supposed to weigh between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, with officials responsible for ensuring this is the case as they are in possession of all the balls before the match.
Referee Shawn Hochuli's team worked the Chiefs-Patriots game Sunday in Foxborough. Hochuli is in his 10th season in the NFL and was promoted to referee in 2018.
An NFL spokesperson declined to comment on underinflated footballs.
Belichick said missed field goals by Kansas City's Harrison Butker (39 yards) and New England's Chad Ryland (41 yards) in the first half, as well as two kickoffs that nearly went out of bounds, were games in which “you could see” how underinflated soccer balls affected the game.
Patriots players privately acknowledged it was disappointing that the balls weren't pumped properly, but noted it was the same for both teams. Ryland, who is having a difficult rookie season with 13 field goals on 20 attempts, seemed particularly frustrated in the locker room after the game.
Butker had made all 23 of his field goal attempts before the game, but didn't think his 39-yard miss was the result of air pressure in football.
“I think it was technique, one of those failures that you would like to get back,” he said. “My second pre-match warm-up kick, I had a 38-yard cross, and it kind of cut to the right like that. So it showed, kind of, at the “Warming up. I did a lot of big kicks with flatter balls, and shooting, even in college I was hitting a lot of flat balls.
Butker, 28, is in his seventh season in the NFL and said he couldn't say the footballs were underinflated. He said officials informed him at halftime that “the balloons were a little deflated” and “they just let me know they were pumped.” [them] up.”
He described this process as “nothing new” and “kind of routine.”
Butker kicked a 29-yard field goal early in the third quarter and that's when he first felt something different.
“I didn't notice anything on the opening kickoff and then the second half, once you get that going. [field goal], you have the kickoff and you can feel the ball,” he said. “And it was visibly more inflated. But here again, the cold will bring down inflation. …
“I've even had games where the ball's bladder could burst or something, and maybe you'd feel it at kickoff and just ask for a different ball. So things like that happen and you roll with it. I've had some decent kickoffs with balls that may not be perfect at an indoor ambient temperature of 13 PSI, but that's just kind of the nature of the game. Sometimes , this kind of thing happens.
The level of football inflation was a major story in the NFL when the Patriots were ultimately fined $1 million, withdrew two draft picks and quarterback Tom Brady was suspended four games for what the NFL determined was a scheme to supply improperly inflated footballs for the AFC championship game. against the Indianapolis Colts on January 18, 2015.
As a result, the NFL implemented strict protocols to ensure that footballs used in games were properly inflated.
ESPN's Adam Teicher contributed to this report.
