Chapter 274: Pushing into the Abyss
A tough battle!
There is no doubt that this is the toughest and most boring game in Levi's short two-season football experience, surpassing LSU last year in all aspects.
No excuses.
Levi indeed encountered all-round suppression.
In fact, the game is not pretty, even ugly.
The Pittsburgh Steelers once again showed their defensive prowess, sacking Smith in the end zone at the beginning and creating a safety score——
For Levi, this is also a first time.
The so-called safety score means that the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive team sacks Smith and knocks him to the ground in the Kansas Chiefs end zone. Then the Pittsburgh Steelers directly score two points; at the same time, the Pittsburgh Steelers can continue to control the offensive ball.
From the beginning, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense gave the Kansas City Chiefs a shocking education and made full use of this shock to open up the situation.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive tactics don't have many tricks. They usually pass the ball to Brown and run the ball to Bell. This is the strategy over and over again; but the point is that quarterback Roethlisberger is a commander who is good at finding gaps and gaps. .
Roethlisberger is also a traditional pocket quarterback, but he is slightly different. His 6.5-foot (196 cm), 240-pound (109 kg) body is too bulky, which earned him the nickname "Big Ben", which is homophonic. Big Ben in London.
The presence of Roethlisberger established the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive style, which is slow, heavy, and inefficient, often struggling in the mud; but if you are not careful and encounter a fatal blow, the opponent may be left with no health.
In particular, Roethlisberger has a beautiful long pass and the ability to hit deeply.
Therefore, even if the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive tactics can't play tricks, they have been slowly eating away at their opponents in a turtle-crawling manner and continuing to advance.
Just look at the data from the six-minute countdown to the fourth quarter and you will know——
Bell, carried the ball 32 times, 179 yards and one touchdown.
Brown, seven catches, 104 yards.
Simple and efficient, the Pittsburgh Steelers used these two points to repeatedly torture the Kansas Chiefs' defense and forcefully drag the rhythm of the game into their familiar routine.
This is the ability of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. He has stayed in Pittsburgh for eleven full seasons. He seems low-key and introverted, but he is always able to win.
On the other hand, the Kansas Chiefs, after being dragged into a position battle, their shortcomings were fully exposed. This was obviously not a game that Reid was good at, and the whole game was uncomfortable.
Defensively, they couldn't stop Bell and Brown, and often needed two or even three people to help defend. However, Roethlisberger immediately seized the gap to find other targets, so that the Kansas Chiefs' defense failed to focus on one.
At this time, the consequences of safety guard Berry's season reimbursement slowly emerged, and the efficiency of the Kansas Chiefs' pass defense and midfield coverage dropped significantly.
On the offensive side, the two Pro Bowl-level cornerbacks of the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the help of God, completely choked Hill and Kelce at two points, so that Smith was completely unable to pass the ball.
This season, Smith's passing success rate has always remained above 70%, but the two cornerbacks Hilton and Hayden abruptly lowered this data to below 50%, and Smith's shortcomings in long passes were completely exposed.
It’s unimaginable that by the fourth quarter of the game, Hunter had the most successful passes as a passing target of the Kansas Chiefs. He successfully connected seven times. Hill and Kelsey, the two top passing targets, were both invisible. The Chiefs' offense broke an arm of its own accord.
The pressure also comes to the running back.
The Pittsburgh Steelers know that the Kansas Chiefs' passing is not explosive, and they also know that the Kansas Chiefs rely heavily on Levi's running ball this season. This way, it will be much easier for the defensive team to predict Reid's offensive tactical layout -
Li Wei had a bad start.
In many attacks, Levi just held the ball and immediately fell into a head-on collision or double-team dilemma. There was no room to start or escape. The fake pass-and-run tactics simply could not deceive the opponent.
It’s difficult, it’s really difficult.
This also means that Levi must rely on strength to complete a frontal breakthrough, but this is not his strength. Even if he gets the Lynch template for most of the season, it will still be useless. After all, it takes time to strengthen muscles and strength, a long time.
Reid was also aware of Levi's pressure and once tried to use Hunter to change the rhythm. This was also an important reason why Hunter was able to successfully connect seven passes as a surprise player. However, this was far from enough. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive team still used Hunter to change the rhythm. Hunter pressed him to the ground and rubbed it hard.
Reluctantly, Reed sent Levi on again.
At least, Levi can still rely on his ability to change directions and adapt to situations. Although Levi set a career low in statistics, he still relied on his personal ability to advance 77 yards on the ground and scored a running touchdown, almost carrying the team forward alone.
However, it can't be carried.
So, there was this scene.
"12:10".
Defense. Punt. Free kick.
This was the main theme of the game. Both teams were stuck in the mud and could not open up the situation, but the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were good at defense, still delayed the game and barely controlled the situation.
Judging from the score, the two-point difference is still just one possession, but this kind of game is exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers have been doing every day for ten years——
This is how the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Kansas Chiefs in the playoffs last season.
That's why professionals say that the Kansas City Chiefs lack explosive power and are unable to break the deadlock and overturn the balance in tough battles. This season, they seem to have finally found a solution; but their true colors were revealed in front of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In this situation, once Roethlisberger finds explosive power...
"God, God."
"Roethlisberger broke free from Houston's determined tackle and completed the pass. Roethlisberger unexpectedly sought a long pass."
"Brown! Antonio Brown!"
"Brown gets the upper hand against Kansas Chiefs backup safety Murray."
Antonio Brown, wide receiver, was a four-time first-team All-American, five-time Pro Bowl player, and the player with the most passing targets in two seasons. He was selected to the All-Decade Team in 2010 and is known as the league's No. 1 wide receiver.
Eric Murray, selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 106th overall pick in the fourth round last year, made his debut as a starter for the first time in his career.
The difference is obvious.
Without warning, out of the blue, the Pittsburgh Steelers' explosiveness emerged.
"Thirty yards!"
"Forty yards!"
"Fifty yards!"
"God, Roethlisberger aimed a fifty-yard pass into the end zone before he lost his center of gravity. Brown and Murray were struggling."
"Brown! Brown!"
"Brown pinned Murray down and picked the football right over Murray's head."
"Touchdown!"
"Jesus Christ, touchdown!"
"Roethlisberger found Brown to complete the connection. This was a 51-yard long touchdown. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense found explosive power in a difficult situation on third down and six yards, further widening the score gap."
"incredible!"
The entire Arrowhead Stadium fell silent, their hearts sank, and they fell into a state of shock and sluggishness.
Bart clenched his fists heavily and almost rushed up on the roller coaster: "Yes!" He knew it, he knew it! You won’t miss it this time!
(End of chapter)