Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 279 278 Hanging by a thread

The air, almost stagnant, the time seemed to fall into quicksand and slow down tenfold or twentyfold, with the heart pounding unceasingly above the eardrum.

Bart had to use all his strength to control his ecstasy—

Third and six, seventeen seconds.

Pittsburgh Steelers' winning odds, 99.99%.

The Pittsburgh Steelers knew that the Kansas City Chiefs were preparing to try a Wanfu Mary, and so did Bart, Pash, and other professionals; Arrowhead Stadium knew, almost everyone knew, at this point there were no secrets in tactics.

Naturally, Tomlin's defensive strategy arrangement became simple:

Spread out the space, defend the backfield.

The Steelers left three Defensive Ends and one Lineman up front to keep the pressure; other players fell back, scattered across short passes, long passes, and other positions in the backfield, with all attention focused on Wanfu Mary.

Whether the Chiefs opted for a short pass or a running play, the Steelers allowed them to advance a bit, just needing to tighten the net in time and cut off the following push—the only thing they needed to defend against was the cannonball pass aimed at the End zone.

Of course, Smith didn't possess such long-pass capabilities, which made the Steelers' defense even more effortless.

And for that reason, Reed, catching on that Tomlin's attention was all on Wanfu Mary, connected Smith with a short pass to Hunter.

Yes, the second running back, Hunter.

Reed used Hunter as a surprise weapon, having Hunter quickly move out of bounds after catching the ball near the sidelines to stop the clock as much as possible, maximizing Smith's strengths, speeding up the rhythm, and building fluidity through continuous short passes and fast stoppages.

The aim wasn't to reach the End zone, but a field goal clincher.

After all, the Chiefs were only two points behind, a single field goal was already enough.

The strategy, very good; but today the Steelers' Cornerback Hilton indeed performed excellently, instantly seeing through the Chiefs' tactic, patiently waiting until after Hunter received the ball to complete a tackle by the sidelines—

Not only intercepting Hunter but also denying him the chance to go out of bounds, letting the game time continue to elapse.

One tackle, one matchup, Hilton's clean and tough tackle extinguished Reed's strategy to stop the clock quickly; this also laid the foundation for the Steelers to continue toward victory.

With no other choice, Smith quickly mustered his formation and then spiked the ball to stop the clock.

The so-called spike to stop the clock involves the Quarterback smashing the Football to the ground in front of him to create a dead ball, sacrificing an offensive opportunity in order to halt the game time, thereby earning time for the offensive group to rearrange tactics.

If it were Manning, he might have already entered "Wuju Merchant" offensive mode, but there was only one Manning.

Thus, the Chiefs slipped further toward the edge of the cliff.

Next, for the Steelers, things got even simpler, keep up with the strategy, prevent Smith from challenging Wanfu Mary, that was it.

Bart was almost unable to contain his joy—

So, Smith's movements were even more unnecessary. Wasn't this overkill?

Just then, silently, a figure belatedly crossed the Chu River and Han border and proceeded straight ahead—

It was Li Wei!

Bart exclaimed, "Heh."

Suddenly, his breath was cut off. Why had Li Wei crossed the kickoff line?

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On the field, Li Wei was observing.

Indeed, Hayward was confused.

Initially, Hayward had been prepared to tackle Smith. Although his teammates were all back and the Steelers didn't have numerical superiority at the line, Hayward was not going to let Smith comfortably attempt the Hail Mary.

Defending the Hail Mary involved two key points: applying pressure to the quarterback and keeping an eye on the receiving point.

Hayward was responsible for the former. Even at a numeric disadvantage, he didn't care about that anymore; he was just going to apply pressure, recklessly tearing through the pocket.

But Smith and Li Wei's dazzling maneuvers disrupted the plan, causing Hayward's steps to noticeably pause, with a brief hesitation occurring.

The field, where situations change in the blink of an eye.

A moment's hesitation could lead to a passive position.

By the time Hayward realized Li Wei was breaking through, it was too late to catch up; he was also ready to reactivate and continue tackling Smith, but the initial explosive force in his movements was gone, hitting a wall of bodies straight ahead.

He did not pick up the sesame seeds, and he lost the watermelon too.

Hayward held his breath, unable to believe his dominant performance throughout the game had a slip at this moment, but it was too late. The corner of his eye only managed to catch a fleeting red shadow.

Damn!

Li Wei faced no obstructions at all, for the first time in the game he could fully unleash and accelerate without any hesitation, and he burst out.

Moreover, he stayed calm, rapidly taking in the distribution of players ahead with a quick sweep of his eyes, his brain operating at high-speed to analyze.

At that moment, Watt immediately noticed—

Li Wei, sprinting without the ball.

But why?

If he wasn't holding the ball or providing a blocking shield, the only possibility that Li Wei was still charging forward was:

The target of a pass.