Was Harrison Butker the Victim of another Deflategate?

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A perfect kicking season went up in smoke at Foxborough on Sunday, and the New England Patriots are once again in the eye of the storm.

Harrison Butker was a perfect 23 for 23 on field goal attempts before Sunday contest with the Pats, while also making all his converts.

There were more than a few stunned faces when his 39-yard attempt in the opening quarter sailed wide right.

Upon further review, though, there may have been a reason Butker’s kick was unsuccessful.

Deflategate 2.0?

The Patriots are no stranger to scandals during the Bill Belichick era.

We were introduced to Deflategate in 2014; Spygate occurred in 07, and the infamous Tom Brady tuck rule in 2001.

There’s a new potential scandal, though by all accounts, the Patriots aren’t to blame.

Butker and the Patriots’ Chad Ryland both missed first-half field goals, raising red flags.

According to multiple sources, the footballs in the Pats-Chiefs game meant for the kicking units were underinflated by two pounds.

After team complaints, referees took the kicking balls into the locker room at the half.

They discovered those balls weighed 11 pounds per square inch instead of the legal limit of 13.5, according to a source.

“They were all sitting around at 11 PSI. The threshold is usually 13.5,” a source told MassLive.

“(The Patriots) told the refs they were a little under inflated or they felt that way. At halftime, they confirmed and obviously put air in them.”

The first odd moment occurred when Butker’s opening kickoff landed on the three-yard line.

That’s rather strange considering 87.1% of his kickoffs this season have gone for touchbacks.

Another source says the kicking balls were unusually soft to the touch.

Per NFL rules, teams can’t work with those balls during pregame warmups.

The NFL rulebook states each team gets 12 primary and 12 backup balls for testing no later than two hours and 15 minutes before the start of a game.

Refs must weigh the balls before the opening kickoff, though someone apparently forgot.

Butker’s History Ruined

Heading into their game against New England, Butker and Brandon Aubrey were the only kickers with a minimum of 20 attempts to make all of their field goals this season.

Aubrey can still reach perfection on field goals despite missing three extra points.

Only three players in NFL history have made all of their field goals in a single regular season: Mike Vanderjagt (2003), Gary Anderson (1998) and Jason Myers (2020).

Had Butker remained perfect in 2023, he and Anderson would’ve been the only two to make all of their field goals and extra points in a single regular season.

In the opening half last Sunday, Ryland and Butker hit a combined five kickoffs for an average of 64.4 yards.

They averaged 66.6 yards in half number two.

Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend and the Pats’ Bryce Baringer hit three punts for a 45.3-yard average in the first 30 minutes, averaging 51.8 yards on six punts in the second half.

With the balls inflated to 13.5 in half number two, Butker hit both of his field goals from 29 and 54 yards away.