Chapter 816: Reluctant
“Attack!”
Houston's eyes were firmly locked on Brady, and he didn't act rashly this time——
Edelman, or Gronkowski?
Houston knows that Brady has two offensive opportunities. If you add a fourth-speed power play, there will be three more; but the defensive team only has one opportunity, one turnover, and they lose the whole game.
So, Houston needs to focus on himself, 100 percent.
Unblinkingly, he completely locked onto Brady, and then he saw Brady raising his hands and heading in the direction of Edelman, preparing to pass the ball.
start up?
No, Houston was not fooled and kept an eye out——
Edelman is already a key target; and in the narrow space of the red zone, Edelman has no room to display. This is not the best area for him to display his abilities.
If it's Gronkowski, it's a different matter.
And, although Houston is particularly tired now, he is not distracted. He notices the two-running back strategy of the New England Patriots' offense.
In addition to Michel, the second running back Rex-Burkhead also appeared.
In this game, Burkhead's performance in running the ball on the ground did not improve much. He only advanced 21 yards in eight possessions. Instead, he received four passes and advanced 33 yards as a receiving point, which was a good performance.
At this time, Burkhead came on the scene at a critical moment, and Houston did not think that Belichick would just waste a position and send a useless move.
So, taken together, Brady targeting Edelman looks like a decoy.
At least Houston's instincts didn't sound the alarm.
Sure enough, it was a fake move.
Brady retracted his movement and instead of passing the ball, he turned and handed the football to Miche.
Run the ball!
The New England Patriots once again chose to run the ball on the ground and continue to consume the game time.
However, Houston cannot take it lightly and must quickly intercept Miche.
Kick off the ground, step forward, all in one go.
Houston immediately stood across the slot and blocked Miche's path. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the handover action between Brady and Burkhead.
Wait, what's going on?
A fake pass is followed by a fake handoff, using a pass to cover the two running back tactics. Is Burkhead the real killer of the New England Patriots?
Belichick is crazy.
However, Houston had no time to worry about the misjudgment and responded promptly in the second time.
Oncoming, Miche collided head-on, trying to open the gears for Burkhead; Houston dodged sideways, staggered, rubbed Miche's body, staggered to support his body with his left leg, and rushed towards Burkhead.
Burghead noticed and instead of ducking, he hit Houston head-on.
Before Houston could gain a firm footing, the force was already coming.
Bang.
There was a muffled groan, and a bloody breath exploded in Houston's mouth instantly, but Houston was not shaken. He forgot about himself and ran into Berghead head-on. He gritted his teeth and crashed into Burghead again with his shaky body.
Even if it breaks into pieces.
The next second, the power was misplaced.
Burghead staggered back, pulling away to the right, stumbling out of position.
Houston only felt his body light up and was about to pounce forward. At the critical moment, he gritted his teeth and unbelievably raised his right leg with his left leg as the center of the circle, spun around, and pounced towards Burghead. .
Just a little bit closer.
Houston was exhausted, but his knees refused his request for a third effort and collapsed completely. His whole body collapsed like this, and he watched Berghead rush out in the chaos.
Grass.
Houston couldn't control himself, "Justin, stand up, stand up immediately, it's not over, it shouldn't end, it can't end like this. Ah, ah ah!"
However, the body did not respond, motionless and without any strength.
"Birkhead?"
"God, who is Birkhead?"
"But..." "Mich switched gears and cleared the way for Burkhead, who seized the opportunity!"
"Burghead, Burkhead breaks free of Murray's tackle, Burkhead breaks into the end zone."
"Touchdown!"
"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! The whole Arrowhead Stadium is in despair!"
"The New England Patriots scored a touchdown! Audience friends, the New England Patriots incredibly scored another touchdown to overtake the score. This was a near-win. The New England Patriots firmly held the key to victory."
"God, Burkhead! Rex Burkhead emerges as a superhero for the New England Patriots!"
"But who is Burkhead?"
He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 190th overall pick in the sixth round of 2012, but had no special performance in the first six seasons of his career.
Including this season, Burkhead's regular season performance has been lackluster. He has appeared in eight games in rotation, mostly as a role player.
However, in the most important game of his career, Burkhead came on the stage and shouldered the heavy responsibility given by Belichick. He seized the opportunity and repaid Belichick's trust with an unparalleled performance.
A touchdown.
This is competitive sports, where miracles often happen at unexpected moments.
That was true for Levi last season, and it's true for Edelman and Burkhead tonight.
"31:28".
The New England Patriots lead.
"...quasi-defeat."
"The New England Patriots have done it again, standing on the edge of the cliff and turning the tide of the game. Could it be that the situation in Week 6 of the regular season is about to repeat itself?"
"But now, the game is not over, mind you, the game is not over yet."
"Thirty-nine seconds, the New England Patriots give the defending champion thirty-nine seconds to counterattack. Everything is possible. Never underestimate the Kansas City Chiefs. They still have the opportunity to challenge the Hail Mary."
"The game is not over."
Arrowhead Stadium, the wind is blowing——
A gust of cold air hit everyone, and the heat wave was completely suppressed. The entire stadium was in danger and fell into silence.
Either perish in silence or explode in silence.
Houston looked at Levi, "...Sorry."
Hard, bitter, hoarse, the throat almost loses its voice.
Looking at Houston, who was almost unsteady on his feet and seemed like he might fall apart in the next second, those unwillingnesses, pains and sorrows weighed down his shoulders.
It can be seen at a glance that Houston has drained his body.
Not only Houston, but every player on the defensive team looked like they had crawled out of hell.
Murray even lowered his head and bit his lower lip, tears glistening in his eyes, but he did not dare to cry out and tried with all his strength to control himself——
He wasn't even sure he had the right to cry.
This game is so important that it goes beyond simple victory or defeat.
They didn't want to and couldn't lose, but in the end, they still came to this position.
Then Levi smiled.
"Hey, what's going on? One or two seems to have lost the game."
"Everyone cheer up, hold your head high, open your shoulders, and face the result of the game openly. We leave ourselves on this field without regrets. No matter what the result is, we can face it calmly."
Houston looked up, "If I..."
If he gritted his teeth a little more, if he exerted a little more strength, if he fought a little harder, would the result be different?
But Levi interrupted, "There is no if."
"Captain, what we need is not what-ifs, but fight to the end. Don't forget, everything is not over until the moment the game ends."
"We still have thirty-nine seconds."
"Hey Sherlock, are you ready?"
(End of chapter)