Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 221 220 imposing as a rainbow

"Boo, rookie!"

"Boo!"

The crude and brutal swear words at Gillette Stadium mixed with the jeers, torrentially flooded down, menacingly engulfing Li Wei who stood by the field.

Although playing away games was always like this, today the vitriol focused on Li Wei was particularly vicious as his touchdown once again pushed him to the pinnacle.

Li Wei, with a composed expression, took these attacks as proof of his excellence.

But Justin Houston couldn't stand it.

This linebacker, drafted in the third round, 70th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2011, had grown into the leader of the defense—

making it to the Pro Bowl for four consecutive years since the 2012 season.

Last season, a knee ligament tear had lamentably kept Houston out for most of the season, only returning in Week 11 of the regular season, but he never found his form.

A new season, a new beginning.

Houston was ready to make his comeback, starting with the defending champions.

Yes, Li Wei was a rookie—that was a fact, there was no denying it, even now. Inside the Chiefs, they still half-jokingly called Li Wei a rookie, including Mahomes and the other newcomers.

But there was a difference between them saying it and the opponents hurling it as an insult.

Houston didn't like it—it was nobody else's business to criticize Kansas City Chiefs' rookies, especially since Li Wei had just thrown it back in their faces.

"Brothers."

Seeing Brady huddle up, Houston also rallied his teammates.

"Hey, listen up. The game is tough, very tough, but we're still fighting."

"That rookie just taught us vets a lesson. Three runs, seventy-five yards; the Pats couldn't stop him at all. Their defense was like it didn't exist, the rookie got us the lead."

"Now it's our turn."

His words were brief but resounded with conviction.

But the second time, Brady quickly realized the situation was becoming increasingly difficult, as the Kansas City Chiefs seemed to be generating an unsurpassed energy.

First down, the run was halted at the line of scrimmage.

Second down, the Chiefs used just four men to rush the passer: three Defensive linemen plus... one cornerback, an unorthodox strategy not commonly seen.

Usually, blitzes involve a linebacker joining the Defensive line; but in recent years, especially after the Seattle Seahawks' Bombing Corps completely changed the league's definition of defense, big-sized cornerbacks have increasingly become common, and defensive tactics involving cornerbacks blitzing quarterbacks have also become popular.

This time, the Chiefs unexpectedly adopted this tactic, catching Brady completely off guard. Peters stormed in like a tiger descending the mountain, sacking Brady without giving him any chance.

The situation suddenly became critical.

In the predicament of third and fourteen, Brady tried a long pass to get out of trouble but found the Chiefs' zone defense highly focused, unable to find a target for the pass; what's worse, as the pass was slightly delayed, the pocket collapsed, Houston cutting into the pocket—

The Chiefs employ a "3-4" defense, with only three Defensive linemen, just three! Yet, facing the five men on the New England Patriots' offensive line, Houston managed to tear open the pocket, which particularly infuriated Brady.

But now was not the time for anger, Brady still found a chance to try a long pass connection before Houston could complete the sack or hit him.

He found his number one wide receiver—

After Julian Edelman, who created numerous miracles last season, was written off due to injury, Amendola became Brady's current top passing target.

But truth be told, Amendola, once undrafted, still had some deficiencies in ability, especially on long third down passes; his route running could often be predicted by opponents in advance.

Just like this time.

Eric Berry, merely covering Amendola, read his running path one step ahead, positioned himself perfectly as the ball came down to create interference, and was even a hair's breadth away from intercepting—

If it weren't for Amendola pulling on Berry at the last moment to commit a foul and disrupt Berry's balance, Berry might have just snatched the game's first interception at that moment.

It was that close.

Though Berry missed the interception, he still accurately defended against Amendola. Your next chapter awaits on empire

Brady's thirty-five-yard sneak attempt ended incomplete.

Struck out!

In a sudden change of fortunes, the initiative switched to the Kansas City Chiefs.