The NFL announced on Monday that the New England Patriots are being investigated to determine if they intentionally deflated balls during their win over the Indianapolis Colt’s in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. According to Pro Football Talk, several balls were indeed removed from the game for being underinflated.
Does that mean the Patriots let air out of the balls intentionally? Not neccesarily. PFT’s source noted that it is “not unheard of” for a ball to be removed from play due to an abnormality. In addition, former NFL official Jim Daopolous said it is possible for a ball to lose air pressure due to weather conditions.
“Officials check balls as they go into the game, and if the ball doesn’t feel perfect, they can throw it out,” Daopolous told ESPN on Monday. “There is always the possibility that balls can lose air due to the conditions.”
Even if balls were taken out of play for not having enough air in them, you would think the NFL will need proof — like footage of a team employee deflating them — to penalize the Patriots in any way. While we can clearly see in this video that there was some sort of issue with the balls, proving foul play will probably be a challenge.
