[Slyfox]

No FB expert here but if they inspected them at 1/2 time and they failed why wasn’t something done at that time?

You would think that when the official who hands the ball to the offense just before the play would have noticed something if the football was missing a little air.

[Haiku Guy]

You would think that when the official who hands the ball to the offense just before the play would have noticed something if the football was missing a little air.

Why do you think they checked them at halftime?

Unfortunately, NFL rules, like most laws, assume that most people will be self-policing because they have common decency. The NFL is incapable of dealing with people who have no honor and cheat at every opportunity.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You would think that when the official who hands the ball to the offense just before the play would have noticed something if the football was missing a little air.

I'd be looking at the officials who did the pre-game inspection and signed off on it. If they did it properly and documented all the balls then that points squarely at the Patriots. If they didn't or can't show that the process was followed per the rules or their proscribed protocol, then the whole thing is a non-issue.