Report: New England Patriots Used Underinflated Footballs

An investigation by the NFL has discovered that the New England Patriots used deflated footballs during the the team’s 45-7 win in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts.

Sources tell Chris Mortensen of ESPN that 11 of the 12 footballs supplied by the Patriots were underinflated by 2 pounds per square inch of air less than what is required by NFL rules.

Late Sunday night, Bob Kravitz of WTHR in Indianapolis was the first to report that the Patriots allegedly used under-inflated footballs.

Troy Vincent, the league’s senior executive vice president of football operations, told Pro Football Talk that the NFL is still 2-3 days from wrapping up its investigation.

While it has not been decided whether there will be any penalties levied toward the Patriots, one source told Mortensen that the league is “disappointed ... angry ... distraught.”

When Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked about the allegations during a conference call with reporters on Monday, he said “we’ll cooperate fully with whatever the league wants us to; whatever questions they have for us, whatever they want us to do,” adding that he was not aware of the issue until the morning after the game.

Per NFL rules, each team provides 12 footballs for their offense to use during a game. The footballs are inspected and approved by the referee and are returned to the ball attendant 135 minutes before kickoff.

Once the game balls are approved, no alterations are allowed.

Footballs used in NFL games must be inflated with 12.5 to 13.5 pounds of air.

Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, told Colts coach Chuck Pagano that the football felt deflated when he intercepted Tom Brady in the second quarter according to Boston Globe. The game was held up early in the third quarter for a minute as referees switched out the game ball.