In the game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs, some balls don’t have enough air. Bill Belichick speaks out

Clear statement from Bill Belichick. The New England Patriots head coach has confirmed that the kicking balls in last weekend’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs were underinflated. MassLive.com first reported on this.

Citing NFL jurisdiction, he explained that there were “2 to 2.5 pounds too little air” in it. “We had nothing to do with it. Were we aware of that? Yes, definitely,” said the coaching legend: “You’d have to talk to the league about what happened. That part of it is controlled by them.”

A press spokesman for the NFL would not comment on the matter when asked by “ESPN”.

Belichick also said the missed field goals by Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (39 yards) and Patriots kicker Chad Ryland (41 yards), as well as two kickoffs that nearly went out of bounds, were plays where you could see how the under-inflated balls affected the game.

According to ESPN, Patriots players acknowledged in private conversations that it was disappointing that the balls weren’t inflated correctly. However, they noted that this was true for both teams. Patriots kicker Ryland in particular was said to have been very frustrated.

Chiefs kicker Butker did not attribute his missed field goal to the loose balls. “I think it was my technique. It was one of those kicks you’d like to make again.” He also explained that he had not noticed himself that the balls were under-inflated.

The referees had informed him of this at half-time. Nevertheless, he noticed a clear difference with his first field goal in the third quarter after the balls had been inflated during the half-time break

Not the Patriots’ fault

The kicking balls are kept separate from the rest of the balls the teams play with. If the air pressure of the kicking balls is not correct, neither team is responsible.

Once upon a time, under-inflated balls caused the most famous scandal involving the Patriots. In January 2015, during the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, which ended 45:7, measurements showed that eleven of the twelve balls used by the Pats were underinflated. Most likely not a coincidence.

As a result, Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season. The Patriots were stripped of two draft picks