Kicking Balls in KC Chiefs vs. NE Patriots Reportedly Not Inflated Enoug.

The first half of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 15 game against the New England Patriots was an odd one, to say the least. One of the reasons came from an unexpected source: special teams.

Things got off to a bumpy start for the visitors, as Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker’s opening kickoff fell short of the opposing end zone. At the end of the Chiefs’ first offensive possession, he also missed a 39-yard field goal. Following Butker’s first miss of the entire season, Patriots rookie kicker Chad Ryland missed a field goal attempt from 41 yards out. A 35-yard punt from Tommy Townsend also raised questions, although most simply chalked it up to possible wind swirling inside the stadium. Apparently, though, there was more to it.

In a recent report from MassLive‘s Mark Daniels, it’s revealed that kicking balls weren’t inflated properly in the first half of last Sunday’s game. It appears to be a mistake on the officials’ part, as Daniels explains that they’re usually tasked with weighing game balls well in advance of kickoff each week:

According to the NFL rulebook, each team is supplied 12 primary and 12 backup balls available for testing no later than two hours and 15 minutes before the start of the game. The legal limit remains between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch.

For all games, six new footballs are sealed in a box and opened in the officials’ locker room two hours and 45 minutes before the game and those balls are marked by the manufacturer and used exclusively for the kicking game. Officials are supposed to weigh the balls before the opening kickoffs.

Once players noticed that something was off, both sides allegedly spoke to officials about it. That prompted some further examination during halftime and the subsequent discovery that kicking balls weighed just 11 pounds per square inch — noticeably below either end of the required limit range:

After team complaints, officials took the ‘K-Balls’ into the locker room at halftime where they were discovered to weigh 11 pounds per square inch instead of the legal limit of 13.5, per sources.

The underinflated footballs didn’t travel as well in the Foxborough weather on Sunday and sources indicated that’s why Patriots kicker Chad Ryland and Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed field goals in the first half. Sources noted that the footballs traveled farther in the second half once inflated to the proper 13.5 PSI.

Things predictably improved in the second half, with Ryland making a 25-yard field goal and Butker going 2-for-2 on boots of 29 and 54 yards. Out of five kickoffs in quarters three and four, all were kicked into the end zone and three were touchbacks. The mistake was properly corrected during the locker room break, although it did factor into that aforementioned first miss for Butker. He’s now 25-for-26 on field goal attempts on the year and 34-for-34 on extra points.

This isn’t the first time there’s been a football inflation fiasco at a Patriots home game. Football fans likely remember the infamous ‘Deflategate’ scandal from the AFC Championship Game back in 2015. That eventually cost New England money, draft picks and availability for then-starting quarterback Tom Brady for four games. Week 15’s development may pale in comparison, but it’ll undoubtedly stick in the minds of many if Butker goes perfect the rest of the way this season.