Dominate the Super Bowl

Hard fight!

Without a doubt, this was Li Wei's toughest and most intense game in his short two-season football career, far surpassing last year's at Louisiana State University.

No excuses.

Li Wei truly faced an all-around suppression.

The game was not pretty, even ugly.

The Pittsburgh Steelers once again displayed their defensive prowess, managing a sack on Smith right in the end zone at the start, leading to a safety—

For Li Wei, this was also a first.

A "safety" occurs when the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive group sacks Smith in the Kansas City Chiefs' end zone, giving the Steelers a direct score of two points; simultaneously, the Steelers continue to hold the offensive possession.

Right from the start, the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive group gave the Kansas City Chiefs a shocking lesson and fully utilized this deterrence to break open the situation.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive tactics weren't varied; they mostly relied on passing to Brown and running with Bell, recycling this strategy; however, the key was that quarterback Roethlisberger was a commander skilled at finding gaps.

Roethlisberger, a traditional pocket quarterback, was slightly different; standing 6.5 feet tall (196 cm) and weighing 240 pounds (109 kg), his body was indeed too bulky, earning him the nickname "Big Ben," homophonous with London's Big Ben.

Roethlisberger's presence established the offensive style of the Pittsburgh Steelers: slow, heavy, inefficient, often struggling through the mud, but carelessness proves fatal as the opponent might just be critically hit.

Especially since Roethlisberger possesses a beautiful long pass with deep striking capabilities.

Therefore, even if the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive tactics weren't flashy, they still continued to progress slowly and steadily, nibbling away at their opponent.

Just look at the stats with six minutes left in the fourth quarter—

Bell, thirty-two carries, 179 yards, one touchdown.

Brown, seven receptions, 104 yards.

Simple, efficient, the Pittsburgh Steelers repeatedly tormented the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive group with these two points, forcibly dragging the game into their familiar pattern.

This is the capability of Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, who spent a whole eleven seasons in Pittsburgh. Seemingly reserved and modest, he was always able to secure victories.

On the other hand, the Kansas City Chiefs, once dragged into a positional war, had their weaknesses fully exposed; obviously, this was not a game Reed excelled in, feeling uncomfortable throughout the match.

Defensively, they couldn't handle Bell and Brown, often needing two or even three people to defend, but Roethlisberger would immediately exploit any gaps to find other targets, resulting in the Kansas City Chiefs' defense scrambling.

At this point, the consequences of safety Berry being out for the season slowly became evident, significantly reducing the efficiency of the Kansas City Chiefs' pass defense and midfield coverage.

Offensively, the Pittsburgh Steelers' two Pro Bowl cornerbacks played as if divinely inspired, completely shutting down Hill and Kelsey, rendering Smith's passing completely ineffective.

This season, Smith's pass completion rate had consistently maintained above 70%, but Hilton and Hayden, the two cornerbacks, harshly pulled this stat down to below 50%, thoroughly exposing Smith's weakness in long passes.

It was hard to believe that by the fourth quarter, the Kansas City Chiefs' most successful receiver turned out to be Hunter, connecting seven times, while Hill and Kelsey, the two prime receiving targets, became invisible, effectively crippling the Kansas City Chiefs' offense.

The pressure, therefore, fell on the running back.

The Pittsburgh Steelers knew the Kansas City Chiefs lacked explosive passing and heavily relied on Li Wei's running this season, making it easier for the defensive group to anticipate Reed's offensive strategy—

Li Wei, off to a disadvantageous start.

In many of the plays, as soon as Li Wei got the ball, he immediately found himself facing head-on collisions or double-team tackles, with no space to start or escape; the fake-pass-run strategy simply couldn't deceive the opponent.

Difficult, truly very difficult.

This meant that Li Wei had to rely on strength to break through head-on, but this wasn't his forte; even having the Lynch model for most of the season was still futile, as muscle and strength enhancement requires time, a long time.

Reed also realized the pressure on Li Wei and attempted to change the rhythm using Hunter as a secret weapon, an important reason why Hunter could successfully connect seven passes, but it was far from enough. The Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive group still mercilessly pinned Hunter down and ground him into the dirt.

Helplessly, Reed had to send Li Wei in again.

At least, Li Wei could still rely on his evasiveness and responsiveness to spar.

Although Li Wei set a career-low in stats, he still pushed forward 77 yards on the ground and scored a rushing touchdown, nearly single-handedly carrying the team forward.

However, it wasn't enough.

Thus, the following scene unfolded.

"12:10."

Defense. Punt. Free kick.

This was the main theme of the game, both teams stuck in the mire and unable to break the deadlock, but the defensively adept Pittsburgh Steelers managed to drag out the game, barely controlling the situation.

From the score, a two-point difference was just a possession away, but this kind of game was exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers had been doing day in and day out for a decade—

Last postseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs just like this.

Thus, professionals would say that the Kansas City Chiefs lacked explosiveness, unable to break the deadlock and overturn the balance in tough games, and although they seemed to have found a solution this season, they were exposed once again in front of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In such a situation, once Roethlisberger found his explosiveness...

"God, God."

"Roethlisberger shook off Houston's committed tackle to complete a pass, and incredibly, Roethlisberger looked for a long pass."

"Brown! Antonio Brown!"

"Brown got the edge over Kansas City Chiefs' substitute safety Eric Murray."

Antonio Brown, Wide Receiver, four-time All-America First Team, five-time Pro Bowl, leading receiver for two seasons, named in the 2010s All-Decade Team and acclaimed as the league's top wide receiver.

Eric Murray, selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round as the 106th pick last year, was making his debut as a starting player in this game.

The gap was clear.

Without any warning, suddenly, the explosive power of the Pittsburgh Steelers emerged.

"Thirty yards!"

"Forty yards!"

"Fifty yards!"

"God, Roethlisberger, just before losing his balance, aimed for the end zone and completed a fifty-yard long pass, Brown and Murray tussling."

"Brown! Brown!"

"Brown overpowered Murray, snatching the football right above Murray's head."

"Touchdown!"

"Jesus Christ, touchdown!"

"Roethlisberger connected with Brown for a fifty-one yard long touchdown pass, the Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Team finding their explosiveness in a tough third down and six situation, further widening the score gap." Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

"Unbelievable!"

The entire Arrowhead Stadium fell silent, their hearts sinking heavily, caught in shock and stupefaction.

Bart clenched his fists tightly, nearly ready to burst with excitement: There it is! He knew it, he just knew it! This time he wouldn't miss it!