NFL game delayed as players forced to wait for balls after embarrassing blunder
NFL game delayed as players forced to wait for balls after embarrassing blunder
David Schneidman Sun, October 11, 2026 at 8:16 PM UTC
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A man wearing a suit delivered a bag of missing footballs at Lambeau Field -Credit:NFL on FOX (NFL on FOX)The second half of one game in NFL Week 5 was temporarily delayed after the equipment staff and referees made an embarrassing blunder that rarely ever happens
The second half of an NFL Week 5 game was delayed after an embarrassing blunder by the equipment staff.
The second half kickoff of Sunday’s NFL Week 5 game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers was temporarily delayed while a bag of footballs was carried from the locker room onto the field.
In what was a strange sight for football fans everywhere, a man in a suit was spotted jogging behind the end zone toward the sidelines while carrying a hefty bag that appeared to contain multiple game-issued footballs.
In the NFL, specific footballs, called K-balls, are used for kickoffs, field goals, and punts, while another set of balls is used when offenses and defenses are on the field. It comes as FOX NFL Sunday addressed the unexpected absence of Terry Bradshaw's beloved co-star.
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In this instance, only the K-balls were present on the sidelines, so after the Bears kicked the ball to the Packers, Jordan Love and company could not take their first snap of the third quarter until the correct balls were brought out to the field.
The delay lasted only a brief period after those on the field realized there were no footballs to use, and shortly after, a man wearing a navy suit and yellow lanyard was shown on FOX’s television broadcast running to the sideline with the bag of balls.
“Hard to play the game without the balls, boys, let’s go,” said Greg Olsen, the color analyst calling the game for FOX.
“Tell you what, (play-by-play announcer) Kenny (Albert), you’ve been doing this a long time, I’ve only been doing this six years. Have you ever seen this?” Olsen asked his broadcast partner.
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NFL ball attendants are responsible for bringing footballs to the sidleines -Credit:Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images
Albert replied, “I’ve never seen this. I know the first half was pretty quick, I guess it caught them off guard at the start of this third quarter.” Olsen laughed and said, “That’s so good.”
In the end, the delay provided a moment of comedy rather than a serious logistical issue.
As many might expect from a multi-billion-dollar organization like the NFL, the process of bringing game footballs out to the field is actually quite intricate.
More than two hours prior to a game kicking off, the home team’s equipment staff brings the footballs to the referee’s locker room, where the officiating crew tests the pressure (PSI) and stamps each approved ball with a league mark.
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Then, shortly before kickoff, the officials return the balls to the home team’s ball attendants, who are often seen on the sidelines throughout games holding and collecting spare footballs.
From there, the attendants are responsible for bringing the balls out to the sidelines in a large bag.
In this instance, whoever was in charge of that task during halftime must have forgotten, and their blunder was magnified to a great degree as it briefly became the focal point for both teams, their coaching staffs, everyone in the stadium, and the television broadcast.
It comes as Philadelphia Eagles fans pointed the finger of blame at "incompetent" referees after a nasty injury.
Source: “AOL Sports”
