The special teams footballs used in Sunday’s game between Kansas City and New England were reportedly underinflated — not by the Patriots, this time — an ironic throwback to the Deflategate scandal that captivated the football world for parts of three seasons and led to penalties against the team and quarterback Tom Brady.
MassLive.com reported on Thursday that the Patriots complained to the officials during the first half of the Chiefs' 27-17 victory that the balls used by the punters and kickers — which are specially marked, and referred to as “K-balls” — were too soft.