Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 624: 623 The wind blows and the grass moves Chapter 624: 623 The wind blows and the grass moves Panting, panting.

His chest was burning, and every cell in his body protested; yet, immersed in an intense state of adrenaline flooding, Li Wei was completely unaware of this.

On the sideline, Burns was asking Li Wei about his condition and whether Hunter needed to come on for rotation.

Li Wei waved his hand, a broad smile in response, his bright eyes still visible through the copious sweat, energy burning in them.

Burns understood Li Wei; the tougher and more extreme the situation, the more Li Wei enjoyed such challenges.

Thus, he nodded toward Reed in affirmation.

Li Wei stayed in the game.

By now, the Kansas City Chiefs had advanced to near the thirty-seven-yard line of the New England Patriots’ half, not far from field goal range.

If they could continue to score touchdowns, that would be ideal; but if not, in the deadlock of bayonets drawn before them, a time-out was imminent with not much time left in the game, a field goal could still dictate the outcome.

In other words, once the Kansas City Chiefs entered the field goal zone, they could regain control over the victory.

Belichick was, of course, painfully aware of this—

Instantly, the defensive intensity and tempo of the New England Patriots escalated by two levels.

Though nearly thirty yards from the Red Zone, the New England Patriots were treating this area as the line of life and death, fighting fiercely.

They gave no ground.

The sudden increase in tempo and intensity even made one wonder if the first half of the Chiefs’ easy-going offense had been a strategy by the Patriots to lure the enemy deep and save strength, before exploding to entirely flip the script.

Of course, the possibility was very, very small; Belichick wouldn’t have been so reckless, but it did illustrate the intensity of the Patriots’ defense.

With absolute dominance, they forcefully disrupted the offensive rhythm of the Kansas City Chiefs, surrounding and stopping Li Wei with three men and timely defending Kelsey with two, extinguishing the Chiefs’ strongest offensive thrusts in face-to-face confrontations.

The Chiefs hardly had time to catch their breath before they were caught in a Third and Seven predicament.

—Third and Seven.

The situation was completely stuck, and standing still made one sweat profusely and knees tremble, leaving no energy even for trash talk.

Better to conserve energy for a straight fight than waste it on trash talk.

At this moment, one could deeply appreciate the heritage of the New England Patriots, who, despite a turbulent offseason this year, Belichick had refocused after the season opener.

After a brief fluctuation, he had gotten the team back on track and displayed top-tier league strength.

But the Kansas City Chiefs were no weaklings.

Reed started making adjustments—

Hunter came on.

With Li Wei still on the field, the Chiefs unleashed the Double running back tactic, fully leveraging Li Wei’s versatility and keeping the possibility of “Chiefs Special” alive, noticeably tightening the atmosphere.

From body language to the expressions in their eyes, the intent to kill permeated the air.

The Chiefs methodically prepared their formation, getting ready to kick off.

Just as Mahomes was about to kick off, he abruptly stopped and stood up straight—

Startled.

A startle.

Not just the spectators but also the players tensed up, almost committing an offsides penalty by the New England Patriots’ defensive players.

In football, before the quarterback declares the snap, all other players may move, but the linemen are an exception.

If a lineman moves before the snap, even just a leaning motion, it’s a flag for a penalty, and the offending team loses five yards.

In the entire League, the quarterback from the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers, was the best at feigning a snap to trick the opponents into a false start, especially on third or fourth and short.

With a mere feint, Rodgers easily secured a fresh set of downs.

Was Mahomes just trying to draw a false start?

The answer was no.

Initially positioned on the left wing, Li Wei straightened up, crossed from behind Mahomes to the right side, aligning himself with Hunter behind Kelsey.

Hunter and Kelsey were positioned at the front, one on each side; Li Wei alone lagged behind, forming an inverted triangle with the other two.

In other words, the Kansas City Chiefs were changing their offensive tactic.

Regardless, the New England Patriots’ defensive group was cautious and alert enough not to commit a false start.

Otherwise, turning a third and seven into a third and two would have made a profoundly different situation; but even without a false start, the Patriots still needed to be wary:

Li Wei, why did he change positions?

With Li Wei and Hunter’s alignment, were they treating Hunter as a wide receiver?

If so, why not just use a wide receiver instead of employing the double running back tactic?

The “Chiefs Special” was well-known, and the Patriots could not let their guard down, further heating up the atmosphere.

This time, another linebacker, Kyle Van Noy, moved with Li Wei, different from other times.

This defense was clearly intended to mark Li Wei; Belichick did not use Bentley, who had just been disadvantaged by Li Wei, but chose the experienced and savvy Van Noy for the job instead.

But was this a trap, or a strategy?

It was clear; coaches Reed and Belichick were playing a tactical game again.

Then, everyone held their breath, got back into position, and bent their knees.

The air was completely still, and for that brief moment, it felt like the earth had stopped spinning, time had stopped flowing.

Even hearts stopped beating; there was no wind, no noise, and Gillette Stadium fell into an unusual silence, casting Foxborough into absolute tranquility.

The tension was pushed to the limit.

Until Mahomes uttered that spell.

“Attack!”

In an instant, crash, bang bang bang, a full-on collision.

The first moment, the Kansas City Chiefs’ double running back formation with the shotgun was fully unleashed—

On the left wing, Watkins and Hill.

On the right wing, Hunter, Kelsey, and Li Wei.

Five attacking points, completely and unsurprisingly, all burst out, but with radically different running lanes.

Watkins charged straight down the sideline, while Hill crossed over into the middle of the field.

Kelsey initially charged towards cornerback Jason McCourty then cut back, crossing diagonally across the field like Zorro’s “Z”; simultaneously, Kelsey and Hunter executed a crossing pattern, as Hunter sprinted vertically down the slot, with Kelsey and Hill forming a staggered double screen at the center.

Dazzling, ever-changing.

At this moment, it was evident how Reed’s coaching influenced the passing offense; the mere running routes were filled with uncertainty, thoroughly confusing the defense.

Whether it was zone coverage or man coverage, the defensive group had to expend a great deal of energy.

Currently, Belichick opted for man coverage, because the energy required for zone coverage was immense, and it lacked a sense of urgency, which they needed to bring intensity; then, linebacker Van Noy realized a problem—

His man coverage target, Li Wei, where was he?

Wait, could it be… the Chiefs Special?