Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 1645 - 1644: Moved the World

The most classic moment of the entire game occurred at the end of the third quarter.

At that time, the New England Patriots were in a desperate situation, as the game was about to fall apart and the fourth quarter was set to become garbage time. Standing on the edge of the cliff, they had to take a gamble, go all out to seek a glimmer of hope, and strive to secure a touchdown before the game declared an early end.

Third and two, this was a conversion that had to be completed.

The New England Patriots used a modern outside offensive system as a cover with Newton executing a fake pass and run tactic. With a true-to-life faking strategy circle, they successfully created an opportunity. Newton advanced on the ground, once again showcasing his excellent speed from his peak days, rekindling the fond memories of Newton—

"Superman," that’s Newton’s nickname, invincible! Unstoppable!

However, Newton forgot that this nickname also implied his exceptional physical talent. Once, he was the top ceiling of physical talent in the league; unfortunately, those days have long since passed, and "once upon a time" is a very, very distant past.

Tactics, timing, everything was perfect.

The execution, encountered a little bit of a problem.

Newton started slightly slower, failing to fully unleash his speed, his steps showing a bit of hesitation in the advance.

It was merely a millisecond of reaction delay, but on the ever-changing field of competitive sports, a tiny error can lead to a massive gap. Newton collided head-on with the Kansas City Chiefs’ third-round rookie lineman Bowen this year.

Despite being a rookie, Bowen showed his composure and calmness, accurately completing the tackle, and successfully disrupting Newton’s ball-carrying arm in the upward collision—

Fumble!

Helmet, crash, footsteps, inertia, the addition of force and power completed the job. Bowen diligently executed the ground defense, yet received an unexpected gain.

Bowen and Newton both rolled to the ground, almost simultaneously witnessing the "fumble," tracking the movement trajectory of the football amid the chaos.

In a flash!

Bowen and Newton simultaneously tried to stand using hands and feet, but everything happened too fast, neither had enough time to stand up, and they ended up crawling and scrambling towards the football like apes.

Bowen exploded with unparalleled momentum and determination, fiercely and viciously pounced towards the football, even kicking off with both feet, defying gravity, catapulting himself towards the ball regardless of anything—heading towards the approaching Newton from the side as the collision was imminent, the fiery murderous aura aggressively aiming at Newton.

Newton, terrified, paused his steps, knees weakened, his survival instinct pulling his body half a step back. Still, amidst the sudden stop and turn, he failed to stabilize on the ground, falling on his back with a thud, like a delicate little white flower, shielding his face and "weeping" in a mermaid pose.

At that moment, the entire Arrowhead Stadium sang loudly, using the classic legendary tune "Don’t Cry for Me Argentina," replacing the subject with Newton, passionately singing, that tender emotional song echoing throughout was simply spectacular. Reflecting upon the terrible behavior at Gillette Stadium back then and the empathetic understanding shown here at Arrowhead Stadium—

It’s enough to move one to tears.

According to Newton, he didn’t cry; "I was just protecting myself."

But whether he cried or not doesn’t matter anymore, because what truly matters is that in the crucial moment of life and death, Newton not only fumbled but also lost possession, watching the football within reach but ultimately giving up the struggle and fight, cowardice and fear of death revealing his true nature.

Does this still count as Superman?

Not to mention others, even the clever and witty Bowen, after securing control of the football, looked at Newton with a face full of astonishment, a hint of pity in his eyes.

It wasn’t contempt, nor ridicule, but pity. Bowen genuinely thought Newton was pitiful:

Enjoying the glory but unable to face the trials. If Newton’s career ends here, he cannot blame anyone, because he was the one who destroyed it.

This scene was shown to the entire nationwide audience through the live broadcast, easily awakening memories of the 50th Super Bowl—

This wasn’t the first time Newton had fled in the face of battle.

But clearly, Newton still had a hard mouth, still refusing to admit his cowardice, still using injuries and his body as defenses, still believing he was Superman.

Indeed, all Newton had left was his words.

The current New England Patriots ultimately no longer resembled their familiar form, having lost the unyielding fighting spirit and resilience, completely losing their edge in counterattacks and decisive battles in crises. Newton neither was nor could be the future of the New England Patriots.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, on the edge of life and death, the moment urgently requiring an all-out gamble becomes critical. The quarterback was sacked, the team fell into desperation, and not only did they fumble, but also lost possession. The final counterattack of the New England Patriots ended weakly, empty and void.

From a certain perspective, one could say that the New England Patriots buried their own game even though Belichick might save it tactically, if the players couldn’t perform the tactics, all the coach’s efforts would ultimately be in vain.

However, looking at it objectively from another angle, the Kansas City Chiefs Defense deserves significant credit for being prepared and giving their all. They did an excellent job controlling the game entirely, not giving Newton-led offenses too many opportunities, allowing their offense space to freely perform. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

During the Brady era, the New England Patriots indeed could go toe-to-toe with any offensive powerhouse, but one must not forget that even at Brady’s peak, the New England Patriots’ offense never truly achieved dominance. Belichick was more of a defense-oriented coach than an offensive one.

The "Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots" matchup always focused on offense, but the key was in the New England Patriots’ defense.

This was where Belichick and the New England Patriots found their confidence. Without Brady, they face all challenges, but in the last five years, the New England Patriots had long become accustomed to relying on defense to win, with Brady being nothing more than a hype that added luster.

Newton’s subpar performance? It doesn’t matter.

Because the true contest of victory and defeat still lay with the New England Patriots’ defensive group, the key was in restraining the Mahomes and Li Wei tandem offense.

The heavy responsibility was placed entirely on last season’s league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Gilmore.

However, what about Gilmore?

Invisible throughout the game, completely reduced to a background board.

Obviously, Belichick knew the weapon for victory, and Reed knew it too, unlike the previous three games, Reed changed strategies—

Direct breakthrough.

The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t avoid the strong defense on Gilmore’s side but formulated targeted strategies to break through from Gilmore’s defensive side.

The responsibility for breaking the game lay with... Li Wei, who had been relaxed and leisurely in the first three games, finally showed his fangs.

Moving in silence, an absolute stunning move, the two-time regular season MVP seemed finally ready to compete for a new season’s MVP three-peat.