Chapter 1461: Chapter 1460: Impenetrable
“7:14”.
Just a score update, and the entire atmosphere quietly shifted.
It’s clear to see, the first half was a tense back-and-forth battle, with Reid and Shanahan’s duel nearly reaching a boiling point. Like a car race, even the slightest mistake could lead to falling behind, and a moment’s loss of grip could mean a total collapse.
There are no other choices; the only way is to maintain tension, continue to elevate the intensity, until one side falls apart.
Clearly, the Kansas City Chiefs are under more pressure.
Whether it’s the challenge of a three-peat or the pressure of a perfect regular season record, the nerves are stretched to their limit, which fuels the San Francisco 49ers’ counterattack with even greater energy, igniting the entire Hard Rock Stadium as everyone can feel the surging energy exploding.
Yet!
The Kansas City Chiefs are still the Kansas City Chiefs, showcasing their growth this season and the poise of a defending champion—
Mahomes steps up.
Tonight, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive group indeed performed excellently, especially after a blunder in the opening play allowed Li Wei to drive straight in for a touchdown; they quickly steadied themselves, meticulously setting up a Heavenly Net in the short pass region.
The focus was on Li Wei.
To some extent, the offensive tactical foundations of the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are consistent, with ground attacks opening up opportunities for passing attacks. Though the tactics seem dizzying and overwhelming, the essence is to release smoke bombs to interfere with the opponent’s judgment, thereby creating space for their attack.
The small difference is that the San Francisco 49ers have a Running Back Committee, rich in running back talents, thus their ground offense is a bit more outstanding; the Kansas City Chiefs rely mainly on Li Wei for ground offense, possessing a strong quarterback and a receivers arsenal, hence more options for passing offense.
Therefore, the San Francisco 49ers use a quarterback pairing with a zone defense strategy to surround Li Wei—
Taking inspiration from the American League division game, observing how the Kansas City Chiefs defended Derrick Henry, but Shanahan made adjustments based on his team’s characteristics.
The focus is not on intercepting Li Wei immediately or completely extinguishing Li Wei. They must acknowledge that if Li Wei is at his best, completely stifling his ground offense may require heavy sacrifices from the defensive group; thus, the focus is on weakening Li Wei’s potential for sustained long-yardage advancement, gradually depleting his stamina.
Fight a war of attrition.
Within just three ground advances, Li Wei faced sixteen encounters of surround interception, leaving him utterly drenched as if he had emerged from the water.
Though Li Wei continues to output, Reid immediately saw through Shanahan’s intentions and adjusted; it was time for teammates to provide support.
Mahomes made a series of short passes, three-for-three, and also had one instance of running with the ball himself to secure a first.
Don’t underestimate Mahomes’ running speed; though it may appear as unsteady as a newborn calf, the Kansas City Chiefs are skilled at diverting attention. Coupled with Mahomes’ big strides while running with the ball, each sudden assault can yield good yardage, catching the opposing defense off guard.
Thusly, it not only relieved Li Wei’s pressure but also enhanced the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive rhythm, forcing Shanahan to sound the alarm:
No one wants the Kansas City Chiefs to enter their offensive rhythm, flowing smoothly and seamlessly, completely unstoppable.
The crisis at hand is not merely this wave of offense but extends to the remainder of the game, as Shanahan doesn’t want Mahomes to find his rhythm.
Finally, the ambush arrived—
“Attack!”
As Mahomes was just announcing the snap, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive front pressure fully surged forward:
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Not an exaggeration, even before Mahomes received the football from the center, his vision was filled with the defensive front’s full advance.
Defensive line, linemen, cornerback, all surged forward.
This was the San Francisco 49ers’ first time in the game breaking the defensive formation, applying pressure with an unabashed approach, the crisis welled up like a storm stinging the skin.
Moreover, the disguises weren’t mere bluffs.
Subsequently, the cornerback retreated, returning to pass defense, but the linemen and quarterback moved forward, and in the gap of position swapping, completely scrambled Mahomes’ vision—
Even if it were Li Wei holding the ball at this moment, searching for breakthrough openings amidst gunfire would face heavy tests; moreover, it was indeed Mahomes who was holding the ball for the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the tactical duel between passing or running, Shanahan took the lead, targeting Mahomes with pass rush pressure before Reid could shift formations.
Ultimately, it wasn’t a seven-man rush from the San Francisco 49ers, but a six-man rush, with four defensive linemen, one lineman, and one quarterback penetrating the pocket.
Furthermore, All-American Second Team defensive end Buckner and the rookie defense end Bosa, who hit the rookie wall this season, found openings to cut into the pocket.
Bosa endured an entire season frustrated, a whole season muffled, up and down, swaying, an unseen window paper blocking the way, everything seemed to be in the path yet each element seemed misplaced. Standing on the Super Bowl stage nearly two segments, he had no presence.
Frustrating.
Bosa could even hear the fans’ voices: another Rookie of the Year disappearing after hitting the rookie wall, heh.
Kick off the ground, activate, sprint.
Bosa swung his arms wide, recklessly rushing towards Mahomes—
Look, even Li Wei disdainfully ignored him, turning towards Buckner.
Li Wei: ???
Buckner, appearing on the blind side, Bosa on the right side, one Mahomes couldn’t see, one he could, Li Wei serving as the sixth offensive lineman obviously needed to block the blind side and hope Mahomes could shake off the right side’s tackle with his feet.
It’s just that simple, it has nothing to do with discrimination or disregard.
Yet Bosa had ideas of his own, wanting Li Wei to pay for ignoring him.
Clenching his teeth, Bosa fully pushed forward, eyes on Mahomes just gaining control of the football, not having a chance to retreat or adjust his steps; the first-time San Francisco 49ers broke their defensive formation for an ambush indeed caught the Kansas City Chiefs off guard.
Opportunity!
Bosa lunged towards Mahomes—
Bam!
Hit accurately!
However, Bosa was too eager, too urgent. Overstepping with force resulted in him being unable to complete the tackle as both jostled in the clash of strength and counterforce shunted their positions.
Mahomes relied on core strength to control himself, taking a big lateral step to shake off Bosa, astonishingly sustaining his vitality.
Steps chaotic, center swaying, Mahomes raised his head towards the front.
Dense and impenetrable.
Heavenly Net.
The San Francisco 49ers not only employed an ambush strategy but also compressed two “Cover3” triangular defensive formations inward, like a fishing net, tightly enscapsulating the Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver and tight end.
Momentarily, Mahomes’ second defense reading couldn’t identify a passing target.
No breathing room whatsoever.