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The NFL is investigating a “very deflated” football used by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night, according to a report from Eagles sideline reporter Howard Eskin.
During #Eagles #steelers pre season game their was at least one Pittsburgh football found that was VERY deflated . The #NFL has the Football and is investigating. I saw the FB after incompletion and it was like a marshmallow. @SportsRadioWIP
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) August 10, 2018
Eskin added that the football in question was discovered in the third quarter when rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph was in the game.
GASP.
Sound the alarms! DeflateGate is back!
The concept of a team cheating in the preseason is pretty funny. I mean, why would they even risk getting caught for something like that in a game that just doesn’t matter?
Maybe the football was deflated because of some legitimate non-cheating reason. Or maybe Rudolph wanted to show he can be just like his idol, Tom Brady.
I don’t know. Either way, I don’t imagine much will come of this. Let’s just hope the Eagles aren’t facing opponents who try to deflate the football to gain an advantage in the regular season.
Speaking of cheaters, the Eagles will play their next preseason game against the New England Patriots at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday, August 16.
UPDATE: Statement from the NFL Vice President of Football Communications.
From @NFLfootballinfo: “All footballs were in compliance w/ NFL rules following the pregame inspection process + all proper procedures were followed. In the third quarter, a football that was found to be defective was removed from play + will be sent back to Wilson for review.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 10, 2018
SECOND UPDATE: More from Howard Eskin. Shockingly, it looks like the Steelers were NOT trying to cheat in a preseason game!
I’ve now been told there have been defective FBs this pre season and although i clearly saw deflated FB i now believe it was not intentional and trust #NFL release. @SportsRadioWIP Deflated football found in Steelers-Eagles game - https://t.co/9wlkNIv3Mb https://t.co/4Hl7rEcB2l
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) August 10, 2018