Tom Brady's Patriots lost to Peyton Manning's Broncos in the AFC championship game last weekend, but it had nothing to do with Microsoft's Surface tablets. That's the word from the software giant in the form of a blog post entitled "Surfacing the Facts." Microsoft's detailed response blames stadium "network issues" that affected the Patriots tablets.

"Not a single issue has been reported that is related to the tablet itself," during 100,000 minutes of sideline activity, claims Microsoft's Yusef Mehdi. Microsoft says during "rare occasions" like Sunday it works with the NFL to troubleshoot network issues. It doesn't explain why only the Patriots tablets weren't connecting, but the issue was resolved after 20 minutes.

Microsoft's Surfaces are built to survive quarterback abuse

With the root cause of the issues cleared up, Microsoft has also taken the opportunity to address NFL players throwing the devices around and slamming them into their foreheads. Essentially, the Green Bay Packers lost because they suck, not because a Microsoft Surface failed, according to the company. Aaron Rodgers might like to toss his Surface in frustration, but Microsoft says its tablets still survive quarterback abuse. "These devices were built to endure just about anything, even Johnny Manziel's head," says Mehdi, referencing the time Cleveland’s quarterback bashed the tablet against his forehead in frustration.

So, if you see a quarterback pound his head with a brightly colored Surface during the Super Bowl next month, it probably has nothing to do with the tablet itself. It's just like browsing Reddit, they probably saw an image on that tablet that they really didn't want to see.