Responding to sideline commentators who reported that the Surface Pro 3 devices had failed on the Patriots bench during a weekend AFC Championship game, Microsoft said that network connectivity should be blamed. At this weekend’s AFC Championship between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos, the sideline commentators reported that the Surface Pro 3 devices had failed on the Patriots bench.

Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, said that Microsoft Surfaces have not experienced a single failure in the two years they’ve been used on NFL sidelines. However, Mehdi said that thethe stadium had network issues that prevented the delivery of images to the Surface devices.

Microsoft partnered with the NFL three years ago. Coaches and players who once relied on static photos of NFL plays to analyze coverage. Those wer replaced by Microsoft's Surface devices, which can offer more dynamic, full-color images, up to seven times faster than the printed page.