Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 741: Matchup Announced
Beep.

At the end of the game, Najib's eyes were filled with sadness. They were only a hair's breadth away from victory. They could win. He believed it with all his heart.

The key is that the Chicago Bears lacked a player who could turn the situation around and make the final decision in the final moments. If Alex Smith or Levi was on the court, the outcome of the game would have been different.

However, there are no ifs, what the Chicago Bears have is Trubisky.

Looking back at the 2017 draft again at this moment, the Chicago Bears spent a huge price to select Trubisky with the second pick, and the Kansas City Chiefs made a strategic plan to select Levi with the third pick. One choice changed their destiny.

Taking a deep breath, Najib's eyes became more determined:
Next year, we should start with the draft.

Looking at the court, Foles once again became the superhero of the Philadelphia Eagles, but it is unknown how far Foles can lead the Philadelphia Eagles this year.

Najib's thoughts spread in confusion and chaos.

Next, the last wildcard match came on stage, which was also the focus.

"Los Angeles Chargers vs. Baltimore Ravens".

However... this game proved the tension of the playoffs in another way.

When facing pressure, they may work together to create incredible sparks, or they may both fall into a vortex of mistakes and make the game fall apart.

A single elimination match is not a guarantee for a great match.

This game... to some extent, was a mess, with mistakes being the main focus.

The performances of the two quarterbacks, Philip Rivers and Lamar Jackson, were unbearable to watch. Jackson's performance under pressure was disastrous. Not only were his rough technical shortcomings exposed, but his defensive reading, tactical application, timing selection, on-the-spot response, etc. were all useless. Even the criticism was unbearable.

The entire Baltimore Ravens home stadium shouted "Flaco"'s name loudly. On the sidelines, Flacco was ready and could take the field at any time.

However, Harbaugh remained unmoved and insisted on keeping Jackson on the court.

Relatively speaking, Rivers' performance was also mediocre, but the veteran's calmness and sophistication played an important role. Knowing that he was in poor condition, his choice of tactics was obviously much smarter and he controlled the situation.

In the first half, "12:0", the Los Angeles Lightning shut out the Baltimore Ravens and took the lead with four free kicks, but the gap was still not widened.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the two quarterbacks finally relieved the pressure and found their touch.

First, Rivers led the Los Angeles Chargers to a killing spree, with a passing touchdown, a two-point conversion, and a free kick to expand their advantage.

When the score gap was the biggest, the Los Angeles Lightning was far ahead with a score of 23:3.

At this time, Jackson, who was standing on the edge of the cliff and felt the threat of death, woke up from his dream. He took risks with long passes, read the options and ran with the ball himself. Incredibly, he scored two consecutive touchdown passes to catch up.

Unfortunately, it was too late to wake up.

"23:17".

The Los Angeles Chargers held on to their victory, defeating the Baltimore Ravens to advance to the next round.

After the game, Jackson stood there at a loss.

He had always wanted to defeat Levi fairly and prove his ability; however, he lost in overtime during the regular season and did not have a chance to play, and in the playoffs... he was not even able to get in front of Levi.

So, he doesn't even have the qualifications to stand in front of Levi and compete?
Jackson was a little confused, with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Hubble noticed it, stepped forward immediately, and patted Jackson's helmet heavily:

Lamar, don't cry, come back next season, the future belongs to us.

So far, the first round of wildcard matches has ended——

In the four wild-card games, only the Dallas Cowboys held on to their No. 4 seed, withstood the attack of the Seattle Seahawks, and advanced to the next round; the other three games were all about the lower seeds overthrowing the higher seeds, pushing the chaos in the league to a whole new level.

A little bit of excitement.

Then, the divisional matchups were all announced.

Saturday, January 12th.

In the afternoon, the AFC No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs vs. the No. 6 seed Indianapolis Colts.

In the evening, the NFC's second-seeded Los Angeles Rams faced the fourth-seeded Dallas Cowboys.

Sunday, January 13th.

In the afternoon, the NFC's No. 1 seed New Orleans Saints vs. the No. 6 seed Philadelphia Eagles.

In the evening, the AFC second seed New England Patriots vs. the fifth seed Los Angeles Chargers.

The schedule is all out.

It was a little surprising that the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs' game was played first, and it was not a night game; but if you think about it carefully, it is not surprising.

Because from a paper analysis, the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts should be the game with the least suspense in the divisional round; while the strong collision between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers is the one with the most suspense.

The league's schedule arrangement obviously takes the issue of ratings into consideration; at the same time, it also takes into account the fact that the league overwhelmingly supported Levi last season and pushed all of Levi's games to night games, which caused a backlash from public opinion.

This time, the league's schedule was well received by industry insiders and fans.

Perhaps the only unhappy team is the Indianapolis Colts——

Why do we think this game has the least suspense? Does the entire league think the Kansas City Chiefs are determined to win this game?

Bart: Yes.

As for Butt, who is “within the league”, the focus this season is no longer on him.

In fact, he is still an unwavering "Levi hater" and always believes that "one season of glory is nothing for a running back" because running backs are consumables. They will be damaged after each season of use and are difficult to restore. To measure the level of a running back, "at least three seasons are needed." He does not hide his attitude at all.

However, the Kansas City Chiefs have been winning this season, losing only three games. Bart has been slapped in the face more and more severely, and he has to admit that -

This season, Levi broke the rookie wall; at the same time, the Kansas City Chiefs are also a more complete and mature team, "although there is still room for growth and it cannot be called a truly strong team."

In the upcoming divisional round, even Butt, who is a "Levi hater", frankly admitted that the Indianapolis Colts would find it difficult to stop the Kansas City Chiefs.

Indianapolis Colts: ...Get lost.

Bart also has his own views on this. The Indianapolis Colts are a team with weak defense and rely entirely on offense. Facing the Kansas City Chiefs, it will be a standard "offensive battle", but the point is that the current offensive group of the Kansas City Chiefs is indeed very good.

Of course, some people will say that the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by relying on offense.

But the circumstances of that game were special. Hunter's accident disrupted the Kansas City Chiefs' game plan; at the same time, the Los Angeles Chargers relied on Lynn's courage to give it a try at the last moment, and the victory was more or less a bit of luck.

But it can never happen again.

Just look at the games that the Kansas City Chiefs played this season. The New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers all competed by clamping down on the Kansas City Chiefs' offense through their defense.

Indianapolis Colts?
No.

(End of this chapter)