Chapter 347 The strong wind is blowing
“Wonderful!”
"Wow, wonderful!"
"Ocalapo completed a beautiful block, intercepted Smith's pass halfway, and almost intercepted it. The suspense is still there!"
"At critical moments, the Tennessee Titans defense also showed the intensity of the playoffs. Just like the two defeats of the Jackson Jaguars this season, the bloodiness and iron fist at critical moments showed the temperament of this team."
"Now, the Tennessee Titans must intercept the Kansas Chiefs at the 40-yard line, where the Kansas Chiefs' rookie kicker Harrison Butker still needs to face tremendous pressure."
"Although Buck once kicked a 53-yard free kick this season, the regular season and the playoffs are different after all, and the entire pressure is different."
"So, the Tennessee Titans have no retreat. They must intercept their opponents. Now they are showing the intensity and strength of their red zone defense. This young Titans also has the belief to win."
On the edge of the court, Harrison Buck was practicing kicking the ball over and over again in preparation for the final victory.
In the second week of the regular season, when the Kansas Chiefs faced the Philadelphia Eagles, rookie kicker Jack Elliott once had a winning chance. He made a beautiful gambling kick, but unfortunately it failed in the end.
At that time, the Philadelphia Eagles suffered from injuries and hurriedly signed Elliott from the Cincinnati Bengals training staff, who had failed in the competition for the starting position, to come to the rescue.
Buck's story is very similar.
In this year's draft, Buck was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round. Unfortunately, he lost the starting competition within the team, so he was transferred to the training team. He never expected that the Kansas Chiefs' starting kicker would Also on the injured list, Buck hurriedly packed his bags in the third week of the regular season and came to Kansas City to become the Chiefs' starting kicker.
In fact, Buck has done a great job so far—
Extra point hit rate, 100%.
Free kick percentage, 100%.
Moreover, he once kicked a 53-yard free kick. There is no doubt that Buck is one of the most stable and outstanding kickers this season.
However, things are different now.
This is the playoffs, this is the buzzer beater, this is the chance to turn the entire season around.
Buck's heart was beating wildly.
Taking a deep breath, Buck turned his head to look at the court. He could see the number 23 on his back at a glance. He was so focused, devoted and persistent, and his fighting spirit was burning.
He also wants to burn in the arena like him.
Forty yard line, six yards on third down.
The Kansas City Chiefs, trapped again—
Smith made continuous short passes, and the Tennessee Titans completely gave up on passing the ball and used an airtight red zone defense mode to cut off all passing routes. Although Smith still completed the connection through quick short passes and relied on the pick-and-roll strategy. Gained yardage, but still at a disadvantage.
Every time the receiving player catches the ball, he is faced with at least two double-team defenses, and often four. Even with the help of teammates on the offensive team, the number of players is still outnumbered, so that the effect of each push is not ideal.
Two yards, three yards, five yards.
Most of them are these short yards. The Tennessee Titans' strategy is very simple and very radical. They completely treat the area near the midfield line as a red zone defense. They must fight for every inch of ground and not give up an inch. After a confrontation, it becomes a stalemate.
Moreover, Smith cannot keep passing the ball toward the sideline, because the Tennessee Titans are already alert. Preventing Chiefs players from going out of bounds after receiving the ball is still a secondary purpose. The aggressive defense that aims to intercept the ball again and again also makes Smith feel tremendous pressure and is unable to pass the ball. The requirements for ball accuracy are beyond imagination.
At a critical moment, Smith's ceiling as a quarterback was once again exposed.
The situation became entangled.
Although the Kansas Chiefs are still pushing forward, the situation does not look good and there is not much game time left——
Twenty-seven seconds.
Victory or defeat depends on this.
Just in time, the Kansas Chiefs took advantage of the incomplete pass to launch an offensive layout. All eyes were focused on Levi.
Olakapo hesitated, wait, isn’t it? The responsibility for the team's final victory should still be left to the quarterback, right? Levi is just a running back, and a rookie at that. Reid wouldn't be so crazy, would he? Moreover, the ground attack at the last moment is really a waste of time. The Kansas Chiefs almost used Levi as a wide receiver in this wave of offense. Will he change his mind?
Then, Olakapo looked at Smith.
In my impression, Smith rarely had a special expression at critical moments, but I don't know what Levi said at this time. Smith and other players around him burst into laughter, and he could still talk and laugh in the face of life and death.
Involuntarily, Olakapo's eyes drifted to Levi again.
Calm, calm, head held high, smile bright.
He exuded a feeling of leisurely ease from the inside out, and the tension and anxiety that permeated the whole place did not affect him at all, and he could focus all his eyes on it easily.
So, is Levi the key, or the bait?
Olakapo had a headache, but had no time to hesitate, because the Kansas Chiefs were already in formation.
Maybe, this is the last offensive attack of the Kansas Chiefs?
The whole audience stared with bated breath.
Even Buck, who was practicing playing football, couldn't help but stop and turned his head to look over.
The wind that had been blowing suddenly stopped. The whole world seemed to have pressed the pause button, and all breathing and heartbeats paused.
"attack!"
A scolding pierced the sky, and then you could hear the sounds of helmets hitting helmets and bodies hitting bodies, like landmines detonating everywhere.
Olakapo's first reaction was to pause, scan quickly, and subconsciously prepare to retreat. He still needed to be wary of the Kansas Chiefs' short passing attack; but the next second he couldn't help but secretly curse.
Damn it!
Run the ball.
It's actually a running ball!
In the most important and critical offense of the entire game, the Kansas Chiefs surprisingly did not choose to pass the ball, but once again chose to hand the football to the running back.
In fact, the principle is not difficult to understand.
Just like the Tennessee Titans chose to hand the football to Henry on third down and 17 yards in the previous wave of offense, they steadily advanced some yards through the ground attack and consumed time; but the difference is that the Tennessee Titans just fought for a better punting position. Now the Kansas Chiefs are striving for a better free kick position——
The strategy is clear at a glance.
The Kansas Chiefs need to consume time, advance yards, and hand over the suspense of the decisive battle to rookie kicker Buck.
However!
The Tennessee Titans' defensive tactics have not changed, and they still adapt to changes.
With the dislocation of the back and forth, the situation of the offensive and defensive confrontation between the two sides will also undergo subtle changes.
Olakapo did not panic: it doesn't matter, anyway, they have accumulated heavy troops in the short passing area. Even if they are running the ball, they can still keep up quickly, use the sea of people tactics to swamp Levi, and let Levi have a taste of hitting the wall head-on. .
The Tennessee Titans have not lost the initiative!
After a pause, Olakapo activated it a second time and immediately rushed forward; in the flash of lightning, he was killed again and was caught off guard——
Smith did not play tricks, did not fake moves or feint shots. He handed the football to Levi immediately, giving Levi time and space to advance. He pushed forward as many yards as possible, and the free kick was guaranteed. Some.
After Levi took the football from Smith, he continued the smooth flow and rushed forward in a straight line without any pause or delay.
Wait, straight line?
Li Wei is actually preparing to break through from the center?
No way...
(End of chapter)