Chapter 869: 868 Twin-pack Sandwich
Focus, composure, dedication.
“Donald vs. Li Wei,” the leading figures of the defensive and offensive groups over the past two seasons in the league finally shine on the stage of the 53rd Super Bowl.
Not just the two players, but the comntators, the live audience, and the fans who remain glued to their screens at this mont, unwilling to abandon the Super Bowl—all hold their breath.
A ten-yard attempt, Kansas City Chiefs on the thirty-five-yard line.
Then.
“Attack.”
Mahos announces the snap once again, decisively and efficiently, turning for the second ti to hand the football off to Li Wei, executing the strategy with unwavering determination.
Again, it’s Li Wei, for the second consecutive ground offensive play.
Unexpected? Expected?
No matter the case, Donald sets off imdiately, like a tiger pouncing down a mountain, unleashing his full speed and force.
Notice, the Los Angeles Rams are employing a “3-4” defensive formation, three defensive linen and four linebackers—a formation that prioritizes pass coverage. While the Rams’ pass defense is indeed superior to their ground defense, their pass-rush pressure and ground defense should not be underestimated either:
Because they have Aaron Donald.
Such as now.
With two offensive linen standing directly in his way, Donald collaborates with his partner, Ndamukong-Suh, to create an opening. Ndamukong steps laterally toward Donald’s position to block an offensive guard, creating space for Donald.
Donald faces a one-on-one confrontation with the defensive tackle. He leans in deeply, using his body size to overpower while leveraging his hands to shove the opponent’s arms aside with a sweeping push, demolishing the opposition effortlessly, channeling the resultant force to propel himself directly toward the open space to the left.
Smooth and fluid, all in one seamless motion.
Footwork, hands, body, speed—all elents collide perfectly together. Donald breaks through the offensive line’s blockade effortlessly, appearing jubilant and energized. His dominance in strength is on full display—truly deserving of the title of the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Without any delay, Donald stands face-to-face with Li Wei.
Everything transpires in the blink of an eye.
Yet, Li Wei remains undeterred.
Li Wei’s gaze locks firmly onto Donald’s movents, fully anticipating Donald’s ability to break through with such fluidity. Simultaneously, his footsteps shift laterally to his right, exiting the pocket without pausing, maintaining high-speed montum as he charges toward the sideline.
Donald: ?
Donald cannot comprehend Li Wei’s movents. A running back’s breakthrough usually occurs within the slot zone. Once they move laterally out of the slot space, they enter the cornerback’s coverage zone. By continuing lateral movent without advancing vertically, they sacrifice progression and open themselves to a safety quickly stepping in. This kind of decision only squeezes the running back’s available space for breakthrough further.
In other words, unless absolutely necessary, a running back should move vertically as soon as possible instead of foolishly persisting with lateral movent—it results in extensive running with zero actual yardage gained and could even lead to losses.
Typically, a running back’s lateral movent occurs when the defensive group opts for a blitz, where the defensive line and linebackers create an obstacle near the slot, forcing the running back to search for an opening laterally.
However, in this offensive sequence, the Los Angeles Rams have not chosen a blitz, but instead, set up a Heavenly Net defense entirely in the short pass zone to counter Mahos’ throws.
In other words, this is rely a one-on-one matchup between Donald and Li Wei, so why is Li Wei moving laterally?
Is he fleeing?
Impossible.
Donald cannot grasp Li Wei’s tactical intent; if it were any other running back, recklessly charging forward with brute force to confront the obstacle head-on, this strategy would be adequate. But against Li Wei, any recklessness might beco the opening for Li Wei’s breakthrough.
Donald must guard against Li Wei’s sharp, sudden changes in direction.
Donald remains on high alert.
This very sense of “tension and vigilance” prevents Donald from fully committing to stepping forward, leading him to neglect that he has already moved out of the comfort zone of the defensive line, leaving the boundary of frontline entanglents, and entering a broad and open space—the domain of cornerbacks and safeties.
Then, another familiar figure appears: Marcus Peters.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ top cornerback last season, who, due to his temper, found himself clashing nurous tis with referees over yellow flags, including disputes over both his own flags and those of his teammates. Despite his commitnt to defending the team’s interests, his repeated provocations of officials led to two personal foul ejections and fines from the league.
During the offseason, Peters had fierce confrontations with the coaching staff, reportedly escalating to physical altercations, even damaging the office of the defensive secondary coaching staff.
Ultimately, with his rookie contract conveniently reaching the end of its four-year term, Peters was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.
Unexpectedly, Peters finds himself standing opposite the Kansas City Chiefs on the grand stage of the Super Bowl finale.
Motivated by this twist of fate, Peters has been performing exceptionally well, consistently predicting Mahos’ quick short passes with precision. As one of Reid’s proteges, Peters displays his keen intuition for his ntor’s tactics, unleashing unparalleled fighting spirit.
This ti, Peters notices Li Wei moving laterally into the cornerback zone, and a sinister smile erges at the corner of his mouth:
Now, look at this—Kansas City Chiefs’ crown prince? From the mont he entered the league, he’s been the flawless darling of the masses, seemingly poised to beco Kansas City’s next king. Well then, let this exiled “criminal” show the young prince the harsh realities of life!
Without hesitation, Peters shakes off his matchup, Watkins, rapidly retreats, and races back toward the snap line, forming a double-team with Donald.
Still, Li Wei shows no intention of moving vertically, continuing his lateral movent—
Even the Edgerunner can’t run out of bounds, right?
Both Donald and Peters are puzzled, yet Li Wei’s swift approach to the sideline escalates their tension. Like the calm before a storm, they simultaneously accelerate, attempting to close the encirclent and preemptively crush Li Wei’s strategy.
However, just as Donald speeds up, Li Wei’s pupils catch this instant.
Sudden stop, sudden turn.
Lateral feint, speed burst—in a split-second switch from leftward lateral movent to rightward lateral movent, without hesitation or reserve, Li Wei rockets away in just two or three steps like an arrow off the string.
Donald: This is bad.
Monts ago, Donald left his comfort zone, stood upright, raised his center of gravity, and released his speed to generate pressure—only to lose his balance amidst Li Wei’s lightning-fast directional shift. His feet slide, his steps falter, and his rhythm is shattered.
It turns out everything was a trap; Li Wei was rely waiting—to exploit the mont Donald and Peters lost their patience.
So, what if they didn’t rush in, continuing lateral movent while maintaining their encirclent? What would Li Wei have done then?
Unfortunately, they’ll never find out.
Donald’s slip disrupts Peters’ counter-routing, enabling Li Wei to exploit this opening to disengage both defenders, regaining space for advancent.
Damn it!
Donald refuses to concede. Planting his foot forcefully, he throws caution to the wind and lunges at Li Wei—
All or nothing, leaping into the air.
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