Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 627: 626 Equal Opportunity Chapter 627: 626 Equal Opportunity Thump, thump, thump thump thump.

Devin McCourty in a flash had completely overturned the situation, pulling the New England Patriots back from the brink of the cliff and at the same time pushing the Kansas City Chiefs toward it, completely reversing the state of the game.

His rapid advance made the desperate chase by Kelsey and Hunter appear particularly inelegant.

Just at that moment—

A figure burst out from the side like a speeding bullet train, barreling into Devin’s waist with a crushing tackle.

It was a move as unexpected as uprooting a willow tree!

An aerial bombardment!

Devin’s smile was trapped at the corner of his mouth, his heart underwent a bungee-jumping experience in just one second, and then he was engulfed by the oncoming force, lying on the ground like a dead fish.

The counterattack was thus cut off.

Panting, panting.

The air was burning, with scorching breaths and frantic heartbeats weaving together, to the extent that Gillette Stadium fell into astonishment, taking a whole beat too slow to react to what had happened—

Interception!

“Beat!

Beat!”

Beat!”

The uniform roar was like a thunderstorm instantly engulfing the entire stadium.

Mahomes struggled in agony.

“Mahomes has an overwhelming desire to pass forward, to throw deep into the far zone, often overlooking the game situation and risking passes, lacking the quarterback’s calm judgment, the ability to read secondary defenses, and decision-making capabilities on the spot.”

The scout report from that year resurfaced in his mind.

If anyone said that this scout report did not affect Mahomes’s mentality, it would be an absolute lie.

Moreover, after the draft, the combined evaluation of Mahomes, who was Kansas City Chiefs’s first-round tenth pick, was only a “C+” from “within the League.” Mahomes himself also had a judgment.

Therefore, upon entering the League, Mahomes had been following Smith, trying to make up for his own shortcomings, striving to grow into a player truly worthy of a starting position.

Mahomes thought he was ready—

He had started the regular season with five straight wins, and he had also shown calm and reason in key moments against the Pittsburgh Steelers; and just now, he and Li Wei had completed a long pass for a touchdown, everything seemed to prove it.

However, at the critical moment, the old problem recurred.

He shouldn’t have risked the long pass to Hill; Kelsey was the better choice.

Because Kelsey had the matchup advantage, and controlling the game time through medium passes to keep Brady pinned on the sidelines firmly in control was the wise choice.

See, after calming down and analyzing, it made perfect sense; the reasoning couldn’t be clearer.

But in the heat of the game, at the critical moment, his brain overheated, and he acted impulsively, taking the risk.

The interception was one hundred percent his mistake.

Mahomes hung his head, filled with remorse, anger, and frustration, a complex mix of emotions continuously colliding and tearing at him, almost ready to explode.

“…Sherlock.”

“Sherlock!”

The call exploded above his eardrum, and Mahomes fiercely lifted his head only to see Li Wei squatting in front of him, maintaining eye level.

“Sherlock, it’s not your fault.”

Li Wei could see Mahomes’s guilt and remorse, sinking into deep self-blame—

This interception, no one wanted it to happen; it wasn’t entirely Mahomes’s fault.

And besides, there was something more important than the interception at hand.

Seeing that Mahomes, full of self-blame, was about to speak, Li Wei stopped him.

“The game isn’t over.”

This is the key point.

“Sherlock, did you hear that?

The fat lady hasn’t sung yet, anything is still possible—we haven’t lost the game, the chances are still even.”

“We need to pull ourselves together and focus, there’s still a battle ahead.”

Until the final whistle of the match blows, the game is not over.

From last season to now, it has always been this way; they fought for every single game, and it’s not time to give up yet.

“45:45”.

It’s still a tie, the scales of victory haven’t tipped one bit, the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots’ chances are still equal.

Mahomes looked into Li Wei’s determined eyes, a thousand words stuck in his throat, but in the end, he swallowed them all and nodded heavily in affirmation, reigniting the fighting spirit in his eyes and standing up alongside Li Wei.

Turn around, take steps.

Li Wei and Mahomes, along with others, return to the sidelines, giving high fives to their own defensive group players, entrusting the weighty responsibility of winning or losing to their comrades-in-arms—

Houston looked at the young faces beside him and felt a surge of heroic ambition in an instant.

“Leave no regrets!”

They would leave everything on the field, so win or lose, they could turn around and leave with their heads held high.

In a flash, Jones also became charged with a soaring spirit.

“Leave no regrets!”

One by one, slapping hands and bumping shoulders, they took to the field with a fierce fighting spirit.

Turning his head, Li Wei saw Hill’s muscles tense, his jaw clenched tightly, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the field, all the complex emotions reflected in his eyes—

He was as frustrated as Mahomes.

Li Wei nudged Kelsey’s shoulder, the somewhat dispirited Kelsey suddenly looked up, and Li Wei used his gaze to signal towards Hill, Kelsey understood instantly.

Kelsey exchanged a look with Li Wei, took a deep breath to regain his spirits, and walked over to Hill.

Despite the fatigue, despite their knees trembling, despite their calves almost giving out, none of the Kansas City Chiefs players sat down; they all stood shoulder to shoulder on the sidelines, keeping an eye on the situation unfolding on the field.

Two minutes and twenty-three seconds remained in the match.

The score was still tied, leaving the suspense of victory up in the air.

But the New England Patriots had a slight edge.

First, there was the morale boost after the interception.

Secondly, Devin McCourty’s return had secured Brady a position near midfield, as they now begin their offensive play at the forty-one-yard line on the Patriots’ side of the field.

The opportunity laid in the hands of Belichick and Brady.

Clearly, with nearly two decades of dominance in the league, they knew how to handle the situation.

Normally, at this point, choosing a ground game to control the clock and then look for opportunities to attack with passes before pushing for a field goal for a last-second win would be the best strategy, especially since the Patriots’ ground game had been exceptional, showing top-tier performance in the first half.

However, at the critical moment, Belichick once again entrusted the fate of the game to Brady, the elite quarterback demonstrating his unmatched control in the short-pass area, skillfully utilizing Gronkowski whether as a passing target or as a decoy to attract the defense, the Patriots’ passing game always one step ahead of the Chiefs Defense—

Just one step ahead, not much, with each pass advancing only four or five yards, the Chiefs Defense’s quick response and follow-up defense were outstanding; but in this particular moment, this slight edge was enough.

After a standoff and tug-of-war, the Patriots pushed past midfield, entering inside the thirty-five-yard line, then came to a position similar to that of the Chiefs just moments before.

The Chiefs Defense mustered their strength, forcing the Patriots into a third and ten yards predicament, and launched a blitz on third down.

In a dire situation, Brady hastily connected with Gronkowski.

The Chiefs Defense was fully focused, immediately seeing through Brady’s tactical intent, three of them swarmed, closing in tightly around Gronkowski.

A critical moment!