Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 367 God’s Blessing
Cold, biting.

Before the game even started, Levi had already unlocked a new experience in his career.

Last season in the NCAA, the regular season was all completed before December, and all subsequent competitions were scheduled in the sunny and warm south, so there was no need to worry about the impact of cold temperatures and rain and snow.

and!

For Levi, mixed martial arts events are almost all held indoors; cross-country running does have to face weather changes and environmental influences, but event organizers need to avoid the impact of sudden adverse conditions as much as possible, and annual events are often concentrated between March and November.

In other words, winter outdoor events are completely new to Levi.

In my first NFL season, everything is a new challenge.

Last month, the Kansas City Chiefs played four games, three in Kansas City and one in Miami, giving them a taste of winter outdoor events; but setting foot in Foxborough in sub-zero temperatures in the playoffs is another matter.

On the surface, the temperature didn't look that scary, and there were no clouds in the sky; but when I really stepped onto the court, goose bumps instantly swept over my body, and I screamed, feeling the magical attack of the cold wave with every piece of skin on my body -

During the warm-up phase, you can deeply feel the difference between Fox Castle tonight.

Levi had a feeling that this would be a tough game.

Facts have also proved that Levi was right.

……

"Danger, my pocket is torn again!"

"Van Noy! New England linebacker Kyle van Noy played 120 percent of his game, going completely crazy and cutting into the pocket in an unstoppable manner past the offensive line."

"Levi, Levi is trying to break the pick, but Belichick had already anticipated this. Cornerback Malcolm Butler's pass was undoubtedly an accident. Levi was unable to do anything, so he had to choose one of the two."

"Levi and Butler!"

"Van Noy rushed toward Smith."

"Smith is dodging, Smith is fleeing, Smith refuses to surrender!"

"what!"

"Van Noy! Sack!"

"Wait, drop the ball!"

"God, Smith was about to pass the ball when he was tackled by Van Noy. He didn't have time to raise his arm and was hit hard, causing the ball to fall."

"Oops!"

"Oh, Levi!"

"Pretty!"

"Levi shook off Butler's entanglement, covered the fumble, and prevented the Kansas City Chiefs from facing the nightmare of ball possession conversion. Levi saved the Kansas City Chiefs again."

"The situation is not good, and the Kansas Chiefs are facing a serious challenge right now."

Levi fell to the ground, curled up tightly like a shrimp, protecting the football in his arms, until the royal blue crowd dispersed and Smith, wearing a white jersey, pulled Levi up.

His chest rose and fell rapidly like a bellows, his throat felt itchy, and an urge to retch surged out, but Levi swallowed it hard and stared at the New England defense team celebrating on the opposite side with a sharp gaze. He clenched his teeth tightly, and a murderous look flashed in his eyes.

Then, take a deep breath.

He looked back at Smith and threw the football to the referee, "Are you okay?"

Smith was panting heavily, and his white away jersey was like a five-year-old kid's canvas, with black and white patches, and it had long been in a mess. The face behind the helmet was sweating and flushed, and his hair was wet and stuck to his forehead, looking as if he had just been fished out of the water.

Smith no longer had the energy to speak, so he just waved at Levi.

Embarrassing!

This is the Kansas City Chiefs' performance so far in the divisional round.

This season, the New England Patriots are still leading the league in overall strength, ranking second in the league in offense and fifth in defense. They are balanced in offense and defense, and have once again demonstrated their dominance in the league. But overall, this is still a team that is stronger in offense than defense. Brady is undoubtedly the core of the core, leading the team forward.

however!
Just as “Inside the League” Lawson predicted, like in the first wild-card game, the defense played a big role.

If we only analyze the data, the New England Patriots' defense is not strong. Their passing defense ranks 30th in the league - third from the bottom, and their ground defense ranks 20th in the league - obviously in the middle and lower reaches of the league. So how did the team's overall defense rank among the top five?

The answer, defensive efficiency.

Like the Kansas City Chiefs last season, the New England Patriots' defense was able to show strength at critical moments. Their red zone defense ranked fifth in the league and their average quality of defense per play ranked fourth, which was absolutely tough.

Before the game, the Kansas City Chiefs were mentally prepared for a tough battle.

But the actual situation is slightly different from what we imagined.

Belichick should have watched the Kansas City Chiefs' games against the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans over and over again this season.

These games are very typical. Although the Kansas City Chiefs won all the games except the one against the Oakland Raiders, they are very valuable for analysis because these teams suppressed the offense of the Kansas City Chiefs, but unfortunately they failed at the last moment.

Analyzing these games makes more sense than other games where the Kansas City Chiefs inexplicably lost.

Finally, Belichick formulated tactics specifically to seize the initiative in the pre-match game with Reed.

Raid.

To be more precise, it should be the pass rush. The blitz is just one part of the pass rush.

After analysis, Belichick accurately strangled the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive team.

Although the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive line has performed well this season, Smith's new highs in a series of passing statistics come from his solid pocket.

But this is just a superficial phenomenon.

In-depth analysis shows that Smith's long pass percentage is the lowest among the league's starting quarterbacks. In other words, Smith's beautiful passing data comes from his quick shots, short passes account for an absolute proportion, and the role played by the offensive line is not as good as imagined.

At the same time, almost all of the Kansas City Chiefs' long yards of more than 20 yards came from Hill and Levi, who relied more on their personal abilities to break through.

Especially Levi.

As a running back, Levi has run the ball for more than 50 yards nine times this season, far ahead of the entire league and performing exceptionally well.

So, what’s the problem?
Short pass area.

Going a step further, that’s the three seconds after kickoff.

If the Kansas City Chiefs' offense cannot be suppressed within these three seconds, they may be in trouble.

then!

Belichick increased the defense's pass rush percentage.

It's more than just a raid.

The purpose of the raid is to sack the quarterback, which can only be done occasionally.

The purpose of the pass rush is to pile up pressure on the front line, increase the density of the entire defense, and create damage to passing and running the ball. This is an overall strategy.

Of course, the best outcome of a pass rush is to sack the quarterback or stop the running back.

In fact, this season, the New England Patriots' pass rushing percentage is only hovering in the middle of the league, and their defense is not one of the best teams in the league at passing.

But precisely because of this, Belichick's defensive strategy completely caught the Kansas City Chiefs off guard, and the offensive line's data was squeezed out immediately -

The second quarter wasn't over yet, and the New England Patriots had already sacked Smith six times.

Six times in total!

(End of this chapter)