New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that the kicking footballs used in the first half of Sunday's 27-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs were "underinflated by 2, 2½ pounds," and he deferred to the NFL as to why that was the case for both teams, Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston reports.

"We don't have anything to do with it. Were we aware of it? Yeah, definitely," Belichick said. "As I understand it, they were all the same. I don't know what the explanation is. It was the same for both teams.

"You'd have to talk to the league about what happened on that. That part of it, they control all that."

MassLive.com first reported on the underinflated kicking footballs. Per league rules, the kicking footballs are supposed to be between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, with officials in charge of ensuring that is the case as they are in possession of all footballs leading up to the game.

Referee Shawn Hochuli's crew worked the Chiefs-Patriots game Sunday in Foxborough. Hochuli is in his 10th season working NFL games and was promoted to referee in 2018.

A spokesperson for the NFL declined comment regarding the underinflated footballs.

Belichick said missed field goals by Kansas City's Harrison Butker (39 yards) and New England's Chad Ryland (41 yards) in the first half, and two kickoffs that almost went out of bounds, were plays in which "you could see" how the underinflated footballs affected the game.

Patriots players privately acknowledged that it was disappointing that the footballs weren't pumped correctly, but noted it was the same for both teams. Ryland, who is enduring a challenging rookie season with 13 field goals in 20 attempts, appeared to be notably frustrated in the locker room after the game.

The inflation level of footballs was a major NFL story when the Patriots were ultimately fined $1 million, docked two draft picks, and quarterback Tom Brady was suspended four games for what the NFL determined was a scheme to provide improperly inflated footballs for the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18, 2015.

As a result, the NFL put strict protocols in place to ensure footballs used in games were inflated properly.

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