New England Patriots

We believe this week's #FanTeaser comes too soon for a certain subset of fans. — **^{Too soon? Or, not soon enough?}**

If the teams competing in Super Bowl LX later today in Santa Clara, CA, seem familiar, that could be because we saw these same two squads (the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks) in Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, AZ.

It was a whale of game, too, as the teams headed to halftime tied at 14 before Seattle scored 10 unanswered in the third quarter to take a 24-14 lead into the final 15 minutes. That’s when Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady took over, first finding Danny Amendola for a 4-yard score with just over seven minutes remaining and, then, just before the 2-minute warning, hitting Julian Edelman on a 3-yard touchdown and a 28-24 lead.

Led by quarterback Russell Wilson, Seattle picked up over 40 yards on a pair of passes to Marshawn Lynch (31 yards) and Ricardo Lockette (11 yards). Then Wilson found Jermaine Kearse on a 33-yard circus catch (see it here) that set up the Seahawks at the 5-yard-line.

Malcolm Butler and Ricardo Lockette — ^{New England Patriots’ defensive back, Malcolm Butler, seals the deal for New England in Super Bowl XLIX with this interception of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)}

Lynch then carried for 4 yards to the 1 which led to what became the deciding play of the game.

Wilson snapped the ball with 26 seconds left and attempted to hit Lockette over the middle on a slant route. Patriot defensive back Malcolm Butler jumped the route and the picked off Wilson’s pass at the goal line. Here’s the video of the Butler interception.

And then … the second-guessing ensued: Why not give the ball to Lynch? Why not a QB sneak? Why not a different pass route?

Perhaps the 2025 Seahawks can answer those questions later today in Levi’s Stadium.

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

The NFL Conference Championships are today.

In the NFC, West Division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks, square off in the Pacific Northwest where Seattle’s vaunted 12s will, no doubt be a factor (game time, 6:30 p.m. EST).

Meanwhile, in the AFC, the New England Patriots visit the Denver Broncos in what will be the team’s third all-time meeting in the AFC Championship. Like this one, each of the previous two have been played in Denver’s mile high elevation (game time, 3 p.m. EST).

The Broncos won each of the previous two meetings (26-16 on January 19, 2014, and 20-18 on January 24, 2016) with a certain Hall of Fame quarterback (and current pitchman for various products!) named Peyton Manning leading the way.

That will, decidedly, not be the case this year, as the Broncos’ will be led into their – potentially – penultimate game of the season by Jarrett Stidham, a sixth year pro with a total of 20 games played and just four starts (the last coming in 2023).

This week’s #FanTeaser image was captured immediately following the Broncos’ 2016 victory over the Patriots when Manning and Tom Brady were visiting near midfield.

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