The New England Patriots are a shell of the dominant franchise that stayed on top of the NFL for so long, but even with very little to gain this season, it’s never safe to put a scandal past Bill Belichick and company.
DeflateGate Part II At Home Of New England Patriots?
According to a report from MassLive.com on Wednesday, there was controversy surrounding the weight of footballs during Sunday’s game between the Chiefs and Patriots in New England.
Except this time, it was Patriots players and staff who first realized there was something wrong with the weight of the footballs.
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.
The New England Patriots sideline noticed something was amiss when Harrison Butker’s opening kickoff landed at the 3-yard line, allowing for a Jalen Reagor return on a mild December day in Foxborough.
This season, Butker has hit 87.1% of his kickoffs for touchbacks. As the half went on, the team noticed that the trajectory and hang time of kickoffs and punts were lower than usual. Another source noted that the kicking balls were unusually soft to the touch.
A Vendetta Against Both Kickers?
It’s difficult to assume anything nefarious was behind this simple mistake as the error clearly effected both teams. Unless there was a guy involved who had a bet placed for a bunch of missed field goals, it’s highly unlikely either team was at fault here.
With each kick, punt, and kickoff attempt, it felt like something was off and it appeared to impact each team.
For Butker, the officiating error may have led to the Chiefs kicker missing his first field goal of the season. The veteran came into Sunday’s game hitting 23-of-23 field goals but then missed a 39-yard attempt, wide right, at 9:56 of the first quarter. On the next series, Ryland missed a 41-yard attempt, wide left, at 3:40 of the first quarter. A source said the Patriots rookie’s mechanics were good on the attempt, but the flight of the ball was off.
The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs didn’t notice there was a problem until kickoff because teams are not allowed to work with the kicking balls during their pregame warmups in accordance with NFL rules.
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.
I n the second half, after the footballs were inflated to 13.5 pounds, Butker made two field goals from 29 yards and 54 yards out.
It also seemed to make a difference with kickoffs and punts for the Patriots and Chiefs.
In the first half, Ryland and Butker hit a combined five kickoffs for an average of 64.4 yards. In the second half, the two kickers hit five kickoffs for a combined average of 66.6 yards. In the first half, Chiefs Pro Bowler Tommy Townsend and New England Patriots punter Bryce Baringer hit a combined three punts for an average of 45.3 yards. In the second half, the pair kicked kick punts for a combined average of 51.8 yards.