NFL shares photo of David Tyree helmet catch on Instagram

The New England Patriots and the NFL are in the early stages of what is sure to be a lengthy battle over the fallout from the Deflategate investigation. In fact, it’s a battle so intense that it may have already spilled over to social media.

Less than 24 hours after the NFL announced Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, the Patriots changed their Facebook and Twitter avatars to photos of Brady’s jersey. Did the NFL fire back with the photo you see above?

Coincidentally or not, the league posted a photo of former New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree’s miraculous helmet catch against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Without that play, the Patriots likely would have completed a 19-0 season. The NFL used the hashtag #WildPlayWednesdays and then posted a couple more photos of amazing plays.

As Barstool Sports notes, it doesn’t appear that the NFL has used #WildPlayWednesdays before — or, at least, not recently. They run features like #WildCardWednesdays and #TrickPlayTuesdays, but this was a new one.

Sharing a photo of the Tyree catch may have meant nothing at all, or it could have been a testament to what is currently going on between the Patriots’ brass and the league. Would anyone be surprised if it were the latter?