Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 247 Rookie Benchmark
It's over. The game is over.

Elliot stood there in despair, his face full of regret and reluctance——

He also fantasized that he arrived in Philadelphia from Cincinnati on a colorful cloud, entered God mode at the critical moment, turned the situation around and fought back, becoming the hero who laid the foundation for the Philadelphia Eagles' victory, not only giving the Cincinnati Bengals a powerful counterattack, but also proving himself.

In fact, the moment the gamble was kicked away, everything seemed possible, and he sincerely believed that he could be the hero of victory.

He even had a celebration planned, high-fiving Wentz, handing over the Hail Mary, and embracing the cheers of his new teammates.

However, everything came to an abrupt end.

Levi.

It was Levi who single-handedly extinguished the Philadelphia Eagles' hopes of a counterattack. He was strong enough and decisive enough, and more importantly, calm enough.

Unflappable.

So, is this what superstar quality looks like?

Exhaling softly and long, Elliot carefully gathered all his messy thoughts, raised his head, and found Levi in ​​the crowd at a glance. He was surrounded by the Kansas City Chiefs players, including not only the offensive team but also the defensive team.

Can you imagine that a rookie, a new player, has quietly become the core of the team two weeks after the start of the season?

Perhaps, he should learn from Levi, take Levi as an example, seize this opportunity, gain a firm foothold in Philadelphia, and start a new journey.

After all, he, like Levi, is a rookie, and if running backs can have a spring, then why not kickers?
His eyes fell on Levi again, with a little longing and a little admiration. Elliot hesitated a little. If he asked Levi to exchange jerseys, would he refuse?

Finally, after much hesitation, Elliot decided to try to ask. But before he could even take a step, he found that someone had gotten there first.

Wentz.

Carson Wentz was a little embarrassed.

Originally, Wentz wanted to exchange jerseys with Smith. The two quarterbacks admired each other, but he couldn't take his eyes off Levi.

Wentz himself is only in his second year, and from last year to this year, he is still a little confused:

The focus on Goff and Wentz, the two No. 1 and No. 2 picks, has never cooled down. Those harsh, picky and sharp eyes want to dissect them alive, review their performance over and over again, and can't wait for them to grow into saviors who save the team overnight.

Everything happens for a reason.

In the 2012 season, the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck with the No. pick, while the Washington Redskins completed the deal at a huge cost and finally selected Robert Griffin III with the No. pick. Both players performed phenomenally in their rookie seasons, not only leading their respective teams to the playoffs, but also being selected to the Pro Bowl.

Since that year, it has become a trend to select quarterbacks with first-round picks and make full use of the benefits of the rookie's four-year low-value contract to bring good results to the team.

In the 2015 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used the No. 2013 pick to select Jameis Winston, and the Tennessee Titans used the No. 2014 pick to select Marcus Mariota. The two players were the Heisman Trophy winners in and , respectively, and they shouldered the heavy responsibility of the team in their rookie season.

Although Winston and Mariota's rookie seasons could not be compared with those of Luck and Griffin III, there is no doubt that they did have good seasons, and Winston was directly selected to the Pro Bowl.

Now, the whole league is boiling. In addition, the league has held high the banner of passing offense and introduced a series of rules to protect quarterbacks and ensure that quarterbacks can complete the pass more calmly. Teams have been more encouraged to choose quarterbacks early, hoping to make full use of the rookie bonus.

As a result, in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the top three draft picks attracted a lot of attention.

The 2017 season was slightly better because it was a strong year for defense and the quarterbacks were in a slump, so the attention was not as crazy. If the Kansas City Chiefs continued to take risks, this year's draft would probably be uneventful. The 2016 season was very lively because of the two quarterbacks.

Goff and Wentz. Almost all teams knew that the No. 1 and No. 2 picks were booked early, either Goff or Wentz. In the end, the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles spent huge amounts of money to trade up to get the top two picks, with Goff going to Los Angeles and Wentz going to Philadelphia.

Precisely because of the accumulation of the past few years, the entire league has extremely high expectations for Goff and Wentz, hoping that they can explode in their rookie season.

however.

Goff started seven games and lost all seven, passing for 1089 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Wentz started all sixteen games, won seven and lost nine, passed for 3782 yards, sixteen passing touchdowns, and fourteen interceptions.

Among them, Wentz received 607% support from head coach Peterson and made 2012 pass attempts throughout the season, which is the second most pass attempts by a rookie quarterback in NFL history since Andrew Luck in the season; this also helped Wentz break a series of rookie passing records.

Even so, it is still not enough, far from enough.

Goff was labeled a "fake import" early on, and Wentz was also criticized by the media. Compared with the treatment of Winston and Mariota last year, the difference is huge.

In fact, this game is no exception.

Even before heading to the press conference, Wentz knew that he would once again be the focus of media attention.

Wentz's instincts were correct.

At the post-match press conference, the reporter threw the data directly in Peterson's face: Throughout the game, Blount, last season's rushing king, only carried the ball once and advanced zero yards.

Moreover, throughout the game, the Philadelphia Eagles only attempted ten running attempts, advancing 71 yards on the ground, of which 55 yards came from quarterback Wentz, which means that the running back group only advanced 16 yards.

Sixteen yards.

This data is really bloody.

The media put all the blame on Peterson and Wentz. If Peterson hadn't insisted on focusing on passing offense, the Philadelphia Eagles might not have lost.

Wentz was not surprised.

Anyway, every move he and Goff make could become original sin, and their every word and deed is put under the microscope. No matter what happens, "blame Wentz" and "blame Goff" have become a routine.

Especially in the 2017 season, there was no rookie quarterback to share their pressure, so Wentz and Goff were still in the spotlight.

That kind of pressure was suffocating. Even if Wentz entered "God Mode" at the last moment to bring suspense to the game, it was not enough, it was far from enough.

This year, the pressure on Levi is even greater than that on Goff and Wentz combined.

People saw the glory of Levi making history, but Wentz saw the pressure Levi was under and the running back. Any of those labels, any one of them is as heavy as a thousand pounds on the shoulders, rookie, Chinese, running back, rookie, etc., a label is a mountain, enough to crush a person.

However, how did Levi do it?
Under heavy pressure, he did not give in, was timid or retreat. Instead, he turned it into motivation and burst out with stronger, more ferocious and more powerful energy.

Set a benchmark that is difficult for rookies to surpass.

Before he realized it, Wentz had already appeared in front of Levi, seemingly a subconscious action.

(End of this chapter)