Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 579: 578 Walked right into the trap Chapter 579: 578 Walked right into the trap Unlike the relentless, layered pressure of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs Defense targeted Roethlisberger and Brown with precision strikes, with a starkly different setup and tactics.

Zhu Zhu: Me, me me me!

The defense is slack on me, throw the ball to me.

However.

The premise for all this was that Roethlisberger could see Zhu Zhu.

Roethlisberger was in a very embarrassing and helpless state, with the Kansas City Chiefs Defensive line creating the effect of a huge wave striking a dike with just a three-man rush.

Lineman Williams, like a stabilizing pin in the sea, created fierce pressure from the middle, tying up two offensive linemen, and one could almost hear the sound of the dike breaking if they weren’t careful.

Defensive End Bailey was more conventional, remaining silent in his confrontation, which was more about containment than pressure, barely noticeable.

And Defensive End Jones displayed a strong desire to break through, with his pressure becoming palpable with each snap of the ball.

Stalemate, containment, oppression.

Yet, with only three men on the Defensive line unable to break through the blockade, no assault could be launched.

So, the pressure was always there, feeling as though the pocket was full of cracks and could collapse at any moment, yet it did not collapse just then.

Such a precarious state, like walking a tightrope high above.

Meanwhile, one had to worry about Jones, not knowing when he would suddenly exert force, and be wary of an eager Houston, unpredictable in his move to strike.

In such an anxious state, Roethlisberger was incredibly tense, with every rustling leaf or snap of a twig triggering alarm, severely constricting his field of vision for passing.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of chaos, Roethlisberger instinctively looked for Brown, his most reliable and trusted target, who could always make the catch and advance the ball with his abilities, even if the passing trajectory and accuracy were slightly off.

Zhu Zhu?

He couldn’t see him.

Literally, Zhu Zhu was in his blind spot.

However.

Brown was also in trouble.

Cornerback Fowler, who had just transferred to the team this season, seemed to be holding his breath, ready to prove himself.

Kendall Fuller, a player waiting to prove himself.

Actually, he was a 2016 rookie, entering the league just one year earlier than Li Wei; back then, he was also a confident super rookie in college, from a five-star high school student to the second-best cornerback in his freshman class, considered one of the most promising superstars that year.

Yet, due to injuries, he missed the Rookie Training Camp, which resulted in his draft position sliding all the way down.

From being a predicted first-rounder, he slipped to the third round before the Washington Redskins picked him up.

In his rookie year, it was injury after injury, playing sporadically.

The former genius’s halo vanished, and the League soon lost interest in following him.@@novelbin@@

In his second year, his performance wasn’t bad; he was the team’s third cornerback and also the primary nickelback.

What is a nickelback?

Simply put, it can be understood as the fifth man in the second line of defense, with responsibilities between a cornerback and a safety, often lining up in the central hinterland, tasked with defending against wide receivers and running backs in the short passing zone.

This role allowed Fuller to fully utilize his explosive speed to make quick covers in the short passing zone.

However, strength and size were his disadvantages, 196 pounds (89 kilograms), less than six feet (180 centimeters), and in a league where the trend was moving towards larger cornerbacks, these traditional agile cornerbacks found their living space severely suppressed.

As a result, Fowler never had his moment to shine, with no Pro Bowl or All-America First/Second Team honors to his name; so when the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Redskins and chose Fuller as part of the deal, the controversy was understandably great.

Fuller tried to prove to Veach and Reid that their faith in him was not misplaced.

At the season opener, when Fowler found out he was matched up against Brown, his fighting spirit soared, as he burst with a determination to face death, not wanting to let down the coach’s trust.

After all, a small cornerback against a big wide receiver seemed hardly a wise choice, no matter how you looked at it.

But the brilliance of Reed and Sutton lay in the fact that they didn’t require Fowler to stop Brown, but rather to stick to Brown and continuously create harassment; once Brown became the target for a pass, all Fowler had to do was briefly entangle Brown, and the safety and linebackers would immediately come over to help in defense.

This was Fowler’s strong suit—
Like a fly.

As a result, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense fell into deep trouble.

Had Tomlin not prepared?

Of course, he had.

Since the preseason, groundwork had already been laid for this, the first offensive play of the season opener, and the Pittsburgh Steelers naturally had their pre-game arrangements.

Moreover, they had a heavy responsibility: they needed to display a tough stance, proving to the league and to Bell that—
The team’s toughness toward Bell was not out of spite, but a genuine belief in their own judgment and choices.

Firstly, Tomlin understood his team.

Secondly, Tomlin had thoroughly studied the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense, including tactical adjustments during the preseason.

So, Tomlin attempted to catch them off guard with a passing attack.

Others believed that the Steelers’ refusal to compromise with Bell was fundamentally because Tomlin believed the strength of the team’s ground game came from tactics, not Bell’s individual ability; therefore, even with a different running back, their ground attack could still break through.

This was also why the Steelers immediately announced James Conner as the starting running back for the season after Bell declared his absence from the regular season.

A battle of momentum.

Naturally, the Pittsburgh Steelers should have gotten fancy with the ground game.

But Tomlin didn’t.

Having been in the league for over a decade, how could Tomlin possibly get caught up in a struggle of egos?

Even if he needed to prove something, the point to be proven was “offense can rotate well without Bell,” not “ground attack can rotate well without Bell.” The scope needed to be broadened.

Tomlin had studied the Kansas City Chiefs Defense and consistently launched smoke bombs, but the real offensive tactics revolved around passing.

It wasn’t just relying on the Roethlisberger-to-Brown connection; the routes run by other wide receivers were also diversified.

Because of Roethlisberger’s bulky frame and the perennial controversy over his choice of passes, people often forget that Roethlisberger’s passing ability is also elite in the league.

Perhaps his short passes were slightly imprecise, but his medium and long passing abilities had always been Roethlisberger’s strong points.

However…

but…

Tomlin had planned to catch Reed off guard, but unfortunately blundered into the barrel of a gun, as his offensive tactics ran straight into the comprehensive restrictions of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Originally, the Steelers were already under pressure from the Chiefs’ seamless offense at the start, and now their own offensive tactics had unwittingly fallen into the opponent’s trap.

Even an old hand like Tomlin was momentarily stunned.

After barely managing to secure two first downs in a shattered and stumbling manner, the Steelers swallowed the first strikeout of the game.

Without a chance.

Zhu Zhu: ???

That’s it?

I didn’t even touch the ball, and the drive is over?

…

Damn.