Patriots’, Chiefs’ Footballs Reportedly Were Underinflated In Week 15 Game

The term “PSI” returned to the New England Patriots news cycle this week.

The footballs used by Patriots and Chiefs kickers and punters during Sunday’s Week 15 game at Gillette Stadium were not properly inflated, according to a report Wednesday from MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels.

“According to multiple sources, the footballs that are meant for each team’s kicking units were underinflated by two pounds,” Daniels wrote. “After team complaints, officials took the ‘K-Balls’ into the locker room at halftime where they were discovered to weigh 11 pounds instead of the legal limit of 13.5, per sources. … Sources noted that the footballs traveled farther in the second half once inflated to the proper 13.5 PSI.”

The first half of the game — a 27-17 Kansas City win — featured missed field goals by both Patriots rookie Chad Ryland and Chiefs veteran Harrison Butker.

For Butker, the 39-yarder he shanked in the first quarter was the first kick he’d missed all season. The struggling Ryland, who ranks second-to-last among qualified kickers in field-goal success rate this season, missed from 41 yards before converting from 25 in the second quarter.

The Patriots also reportedly “noticed that the trajectory and hang time of kickoffs and punts were lower than usual” during the first half, and that “the kicking balls were unusually soft to the touch.”

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The two kickers combined to go 4-for-4 on field goals and extra points after halftime, and the average distance of kickoffs and punts both increased in the second half after officials reportedly corrected their error.

“I don’t know at what point it was missed,” a source told MassLive. “I don’t think they were leaking. It was a situation and it got mitigated in the second half.”

Patriots punter Bryce Baringer was visibly upset in the locker room after the game, for reasons that were unclear at the time. MassLive reported other specialists were angry, as well.

Underinflated footballs, of course, have been a source of controversy for New England in the past, with the infamous Deflategate prompting 18 months of hand-wringing, a high-profile court case and a four-game suspension for quarterback Tom Brady. It’s unclear how Sunday’s mistake, which reportedly affected both teams, occurred.

The 3-11 Patriots are set to visit the 7-7 Denver Broncos this Sunday.