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A Patriots coach who played against his own brother is hyping up the Elliss rivalry for AFC Championship
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- A Patriots coach who played against his own brother is hyping up the Elliss rivalry for AFC Championship
FOXBOROUGH — No matter what happens on Sunday in Denver , there will be an Elliss representing the AFC in Super Bowl LX.
Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss will square off with his brother, Jonah, who also plays linebacker for the Broncos. It’ll be the first NFL game pitting the brothers against each other, and both players get on the field for special teams, so they could actually meet head-to-head, too.
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Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer is leaning into it.
“We’ve talked about that. I like to give him some (expletive) about it and say, ‘Here’s your brother right here. Look at his face and his smiling picture,’” Springer said. “We’ve been talking about it day by day.”
The Elliss brothers also have Kaden, who plays for the Falcons, and Noah, an Eagles linebacker from 2022-23, so four have suited up for NFL teams thus far.
Springer has some personal experience with sibling rivalry, albeit at the college level. When he was a sophomore at UTEP in 2009, Springer played his twin brother, Justin, who was a linebacker at Kansas.
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“I remember playing him in college,” Springer said. “It was just a fun kind of week. For them, this is to go to the Super Bowl. So for them it’s even a bigger role. So I think he’s really excited about it, as he should (be) is family is probably really excited about it.”
The Patriots special teams coordinator lost that game in 2009, as Justin’s Jayhawks ran away with a 34-7 victory, but both Springers landed in the box score. Justin had three tackles, while Jeremy registered eight and knocked a pass down.
On Sunday, he’s hoping his side comes out on the right side of the brotherly battle.
“I’m excited to see how it plays out,” Springer said. “Hopefully our Elliss is better than their Elliss at the end of the day.”
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