Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 755: Three Levels and Ten Codes
This season, the Indianapolis Colts' defense has been plagued by injuries, and the Kansas City Chiefs aren't much better.

Veterans suffered injuries and rookies could not keep up with the intensity of the game, causing the Kansas City Chiefs' defense to decline in the rankings this season. The team relied entirely on its explosive power at critical moments to keep itself alive.

So many people in the league joked that the Kansas City Chiefs' defense usually lies down and relies entirely on the offensive team; then they keep accumulating strength and waiting for the fatal blow at the critical moment.

People are often like this. A heroic moment can completely forget previous mistakes and stupidity. Victory can also cover up all problems.

But apparently, the Watt brothers didn’t think so:
It is true that the Kansas City Chiefs' defense is aging and tired, but it is also true that it has faced more harsh criticism because of the sharp contrast with the strong performance of the offense.

In this veteran-dominated defense, young people are growing, but they lack a spiritual leader and have not been able to grow as fast as the offensive team last season. If any team ignores the Kansas City Chiefs defense, this young team will make them suffer the consequences.

Before his eyes, JJ keenly sensed a change in the undercurrent——

Levi is still Levi.

This player who grew into the leader of the Kansas City Chiefs at a young age has completely lost his rookie look this season and has become fully mature.

In this divisional game, JJ could sense that, although he didn't know the reason, Levi had an indomitable and determined belief in victory. He released all of this energy in the first wave of offense, igniting the entire Arrowhead Stadium.

Others thought that this was the Kansas City Chiefs' response to the Indianapolis Colts' opening touchdown, but JJ had a feeling that Levi didn't care about that touchdown at all. He had his own mission and his own battle. That kind of belief and energy successfully infected the defensive team, and they began to awaken.

Of course, it is also possible that everything is JJ's fantasy, and the change in the momentum of the Kansas City Chiefs' defense is just because of the playoffs.

After all, if we don’t rise up now, we may not have any chance, because the playoffs are a single-elimination tournament and there is only one chance.

Regardless, JJ is looking forward to it, and he knows very well the capabilities of the Indianapolis Colts and Luck.

A short week was not enough to heal the pain of suffering a heavy blow despite being full of confidence last week. He could feel upset as soon as he opened his eyes, and he couldn't get rid of those distracting thoughts even if he worked out wholeheartedly in the gym; but JJ still decided to come to Kansas City to watch the game.

Perhaps, fighting poison with poison is the only cure now.

The game continues.

It's a bit incredible, but the Indianapolis Colts have a total of three running backs in rotation this season.

On the one hand, all three running backs were not strong enough, and their personal levels and tactical abilities were worrying, which forced Reitch to use a lot of passing offense. This was a team where the passing offense was obviously far superior to the ground offense, and Reitch had been looking for a suitable running back.

On the other hand, Reitch used different running backs to play, which really changed the running back tactics. In addition to running and catching the ball, which everyone knows, the most important role of the Indianapolis Colts' running backs is the sixth offensive lineman, fully protecting the quarterback baby Luke.

Against a team like the Houston Texans that is particularly good at passing pressure, Reich's strategy and tactics are very representative -

Three running backs took turns facing J.J. Watt. The focus was not on defending Watt, but just a little blocking to buy Lack half a second to pass the ball.

Moreover, it was "three vs. one", and the three people took turns to consume Watt's physical strength and dragged Watt into the quagmire.

Although Watt still performed well and sacked Luck twice, the strategy of rushing the pass did not work because the passing offense was still not suppressed.

This strategy is jokingly called the "reverse version of the read-option offense."

Facing the read-option offense, a linebacker should be assigned to guard the quarterback alone; now the Indianapolis Colts assign a running back to guard the opponent's sacker alone.

Moreover, the uniqueness of Reich's strategy is that it can often achieve unexpected results by attacking the ground offense unexpectedly. Thanks to this, the Indianapolis Colts' offense ranks fifth in the league this season. Although the ground advance yardage is not even in the top ten in the league, the overall offense ranking is among the top.

Of course, there is a solution to this problem.

The Jacksonville Jaguars successfully shut out the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12 of the regular season, and Luck was completely lost throughout the game.

The key is to perform on the spot and be able to adapt to changing circumstances. The game of offense and defense is happening all the time.

The most direct point is that the Kansas City Chiefs' defense does not have any particular strengths, but their defensive strategies are more varied, richer, and more unpredictable.

Simply put, Reich cannot accurately predict when the Kansas City Chiefs will choose to rush the passer and put pressure on the run. At the same time, the Kansas City Chiefs do not have a leader like Watt or Donald, so Reich's strategy may not work.

Sure enough, facing the Indianapolis Colts' second wave of offense, Reed obviously adjusted his strategy.

Defend the front line, maintain pressure, but do not raid; withdraw more forces, strengthen pass defense, and set up a tight network with zone defense.

The Kansas City Chiefs did not use man-to-man defense because they knew Luck's passing ability and secondary defense reading ability, and the slightest gap could lead to huge blood loss; so the team relied on zone defense to maintain pressure and slow down Luck's passing rhythm as much as possible.

The game was obviously broken down, with no sense of smooth flow at all.

Luck was still outstanding. He turned the tide and completed the pass in four third-down conversions. He found a gap to continue advancing under the dense pressure of the Kansas City Chiefs. This wave of offense lasted for a full six minutes. The Indianapolis Colts successfully pushed through half court and came to the 20-yard line.

The end zone is right in front of us.

However, as they approached the end zone, the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive intensity increased significantly.

He once saw through the Indianapolis Colts' intention to sneak the ball and intercepted the running back at the line of scrimmage.

A successful short pass zone defense resulted in an incomplete pass from Luck.

Third down and ten yards, in the blink of an eye, the Indianapolis Colts faced the most severe situation in this offensive wave; although they had taken the initiative and could try a free kick even if they struck out, looking at the end zone so close, Reitch and Luck still wanted to score a touchdown.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the entire Arrowhead Stadium fell into a frenzy.

"Defense! Snap!"

"Defense! Snap!"

The whole stadium roared, and the overwhelming wave of air almost swallowed up the Indianapolis Colts' offensive team. Arrowhead Stadium was showing the power of the devil's home field.

Lark, unmoved.

"attack!"

A firm and heroic voice pierced the sky, the suffocatingly thick smoke exploded instantly, and the rumbling roar exploded on the eardrums.

(End of this chapter)