Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 585: 584 Genuine Materials Chapter 585: 584 Genuine Materials “`

“…James, it’s Jesse James!”

“Roethlisberger’s pass towards Antonio Brown successfully deceived the Kansas City Chiefs Defense, aiming behind Brown for James!”

“This isn’t a medium pass, but a long one, the parabola completely bypasses Brown’s position—Brown is actually a smoke bomb, Roethlisberger successfully distracted the defenders’ attention, launching a long pass.”

“Fifteen yards!”

“Twenty yards!”

“Twenty-five yards!”

“Roethlisberger throws a twenty-five-yard long pass!”

“James!

James makes the catch, he shakes off Safety Murray’s tackle!”

“Advance!”

“End zone!”

“Touchdown!”

“Beautiful, the Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Team finally breaks the deadlock and scores the first touchdown of the game!

Could this be the turning point for the Pittsburgh Steelers to turn the tide?”

The answer is affirmative.

Tomlin didn’t get flustered but showed the real deal as a head coach.

He still insisted on the backup strategy formed during the offseason to cover for Bell’s absence—opening up routes, broadening the view, and transforming the Steelers into a team focused on passing offenses, making full use of Roethlisberger’s ability to cover the entire field with his passes, attacking from multiple points like scattering blossoms from the heavens.

The question was, how to use Brown?

Brown had just renewed his contract last offseason and was now not only the league’s highest-paid wide receiver but also widely recognized by professionals and players as the number one wide receiver, in top form, an undeniable weapon.

How to utilize Brown correctly was the most important link for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their quest for victory and even the championship, especially in Bell’s absence when Brown’s tactical significance soared.

Although Brown was somewhat flustered during the first quarter, failing to perform; he too needed time to find his competitive state.

However, Tomlin showed his ruthless side.

Like with Bell, he would bench Brown without hesitation.

In the second quarter, Tomlin used Brown purely as a decoy, relying on him alone to attract the attention of at least two or even three people, which created the space for Roethlisberger’s passes—

Including James, including Zhu Zhu, including the fourth and fifth wide receivers, including the new starting running back Conner, all could be targets for passes, as the Steelers opened up their entire passing offense strategy.

Just like the Kansas City Chiefs.

Consequently, the Defensive group couldn’t simply follow a routine; they had to adjust, focus, and remain adaptable with every offensive and defensive down.

And Tomlin was resolute, benching Brown whenever he said so, without a single targeted pass at Brown throughout the entire second quarter; Yet the Chiefs couldn’t let their guard down—they had to constantly be vigilant of Brown, for even if he was just a Goalkeeper standing there, they had to divert their defense, for what if?

Thus, the advantage was suddenly reversed.

Also, there was another point—

Risk-taking.

In the second quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced three fourth-down situations, and each time they chose to go for it.

One fourth-and-one, one fourth-and-two, it made some sense to take the risk; but even on a fourth-and-four, Tomlin still took the chance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers made astonishing history:@@novelbin@@

The first team ever to announce they were going for it on fourth down three times in a row in the first half of a game.

Twice they succeeded, once they failed.

Tomlin’s strategic core was to pursue an air of absolute determination.

The score gap was too wide in the first quarter; if they waited until the second half to make a move, there might be no opportunity left; they had to counterattack in the second quarter, before the Kansas City Chiefs could completely widen the gap, moreover, there was a higher margin for error in the first half.

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Under Tomlin’s strategy, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive tactics were a bit rough, but they won with momentum, turning the situation around with a barbaric posture.

Of course, this wasn’t everything, as relying solely on offense was not enough to win the game—

Defense could not stand by idly either.

Finally, after scoring the first touchdown and breaking the deadlock, the pressure on the Pittsburgh Steelers visibly lessened, and the defensive group gradually let loose and found their rhythm.

Strategy involved targeted adjustments.

Firstly, the front line gave up on blitzes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers just maintained basic pressure on the rush-pass balance, enough to keep Mahomes from getting too comfortable and taking whatever he wanted.

Secondly, they adopted a nickel defense.

Reducing a lineman and adding a nickel back (a role between a cornerback and a safety).

Using a nickel back specifically to cover Li Wei; the other three linemen joined the four defensive backs in a combination of man coverage and zone defense.

Whether it was Li Wei or a wide receiver entering the short pass area, at that moment, the zone defense could form coverage of two to three players, plus the player already in man coverage, trapping the offensive players in an encirclement.

In fact, it went beyond that—when Mahomes chose his passing target, he could find that around his targets were defenders, and defenders roamed in each passing zone—

There was no space whatsoever.

The pressure naturally mounted.

Meanwhile, Li Wei faced tight man coverage from a nickel back, and if he couldn’t shake him off immediately, double or triple coverage would close in on him, trapping him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers transplanted the Kansas City Chiefs’s tactic against Brown onto Li Wei, instantly making Li Wei relive the nightmare of last year’s regular season’s sixth week.

The key to the whole strategy was that without blitzing, Mahomes was somewhat released; and what Tomlin capitalized on was Mahomes’s inexperience and temperament.

First off, inexperience.

Second, the willingness to take risks.

Tomlin managed to spring in the second quarter the trap that failed during the Kansas City Chiefs’s second offensive wave in the first quarter; faced with such a situation, the success from the first quarter had given Mahomes confidence, encouraging him to take risks and attempt passes, but his choice of passing routes and targets still betrayed the impetuosity of youth.

After all, this was just his first career start.

As long as Mahomes dared to take risks, the Pittsburgh Steelers’s immediate double team defense would put the Kansas City Chiefs at risk of an interception—

Dancing on the edge of the knife.

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers had not managed an interception yet, the pressure was constantly there.

Hill, Kelsey, Watkins, and other receiving points were all surrounded, causing the Kansas City Chiefs’s offense to falter.

The first running play hit a wall.

The first pass was incomplete.

The first strikeout.

The youngster began to pay the price for his lack of experience.

The Pittsburgh Steelers seized the opportunity at once, displaying the poise of a seasoned team.

First was Roethlisberger connecting with Zhu Zhu for another touchdown, but the extra point was missed.

Late in the first half, the Pittsburgh Steelers even played a little trick on offense.

Running back Conner passed the ball back to Roethlisberger, who then threw it to this year’s rookie wide receiver James Washington for a fourteen-yard touchdown completion.

Immediately after, they chose a two-point conversion, and incredibly, Roethlisberger connected with running back Conner—it was successful!

Whistle!

The first half, the game ended.

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