So maybe the circumstances weren't quite as big as the original Deflategate, but still...
Harrison Butker came into Week 15 against the New England Patriots riding a streak of perfection, an incredible display of steady accuracy and power that had the kicker perfect when attempting field goals and extra points for the vast majority of the Kansas City Chiefs season. Then came the team's game against the New England Patriots—and his first miss of the season.
Coming out of the Chiefs' 27-17 win over the Patriots last Sunday, very few people were thinking about the missed field goals in the first half considering that both sides came up short on the three-point attempts. Misses happen in the NFL and Butker was bound to make an error at some point, right?
As it turns out, there was some funny business going on behind the scenes—like there often is in Foxborough. This time, it was the Patriots' own special teams players who unearthed the evidence and became a source for a new report at Masslive. As it turns out, the football used in the first half of the Chiefs-Patriots game were under-inflated by a considerable margin.
Per the Masslive report, the footballs at Gillette Stadium intended for kicking units were only inflated to 11 PSI in the first half—2.5 lbs. less than the required 13.5 PSI. Chad Ryland of the Patriots and Butker both missed early kicks and a source after the game stated that's why the kickers missed.
That's frustrating especially for Butker because the attempt wasn't even a challenging one. It should have been a gimme at just under 40 yards out but instead, it ruined a streak of 23 consecutive makes for Butker and lost him the chance to claim a perfect season. For a kicker who has yet to reach his first Pro Bowl, it's sad that a meaningful personal achievement could be lost due to an equipment error.
We're pretty sure this version of Deflategate won't cost the Patriots a couple of draft picks or their quarterback a $1 million fine. We're also pretty sure the Patriots weren't telling on themselves the first time around. But given the history here, we'll put nothing past them and maybe sabotaging Butker was the name of the game all along.