Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 324 - 323 All’s fair in war

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For the Los Angeles Chargers, the 2017 season was filled with turmoil and unpredictability. After another disappointing failure to make the playoffs last season, completely squandering the remarkable performance of quarterback Rivers, the team owner, in a fit of rage, fired the entire coaching staff and began restructuring the team from scratch, moving the team from San Diego to Los Angeles—

Everything, starting anew.

Anthony Lynn, who produced a decent performance with the Buffalo Bills’ offensive group during the previous season, was promptly appointed as the new head coach. It was Lynn’s first time serving in the role of head coach in his career.

In fact, so far, Lynn’s season record wasn’t too bad, seven wins and six losses, on par with the Kansas City Chiefs, still keeping playoff hopes alive.

This situation was a glimmer of hope, as the team and fans hadn’t harbored many expectations when Lynn took the helm, yet there was a pleasant surprise; it was also a form of pressure, with the playoffs so close yet so far, that even Lynn himself began to get restless.

If he could enter the playoffs standing on the shoulders of divisional rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, Lynn would gain more control and lay the foundation for building a team he envisioned during the next offseason; in Los Angeles, the team would also earn more fan support. More importantly, if he took his team to the playoffs in his first season as a head coach, his resume would instantly become impressive.

Merely imagining it made him uncontrollably excited.

Therefore, when Lynn saw the media besieging Li Wei and news of strange atmospheres at the Kansas City Chiefs’ training ground, his first reaction was to clench his fists in celebration—

A rookie, a newcomer, and a running back were in the eye of the storm, and locker room issues were bound to arise sooner or later.

It seemed that the Kansas City Chiefs had finally broken their losing streak by defeating the Oakland Raiders and shed the gloom of six consecutive losses, but though the victory was a team effort, the media kept praising Li Wei. Soon after came the commotion of sponsors, and other contributors to the victory inevitably harbored different thoughts.

"Trouble in Kansas’s locker room again: Discontent with Li Wei had been brewing for a long time."

"Caution, beware of Li Wei becoming the next Beckham during his time at Manchester United."

"Will the ’Flying Boot’ incident repeat itself?"

"Reed unable to control the locker room; the end of losing streaks leads to another storm."

"Success and downfall of Li Wei—discussing the predicament of the Kansas City Chiefs this season."

"Superstar lost in the realm of fame and fortune 2.0!"

The news was full of sensational headlines, but Lynn didn’t believe all of it; believing half of what the media reported and doubting the rest was an appropriate approach.

Lynn guessed the Kansas City Chiefs, with Reed at the helm, wouldn’t blow up, but the complex twists and turns within the locker room weren’t so simple. With only so many people in soccer and basketball locker rooms already causing frequent conflicts, and with even more in football locker rooms, conflicts were nearly unavoidable.

Did this mean that Li Wei might experience fluctuations in his performance?

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Lynn himself was a former running back who turned to coaching, serving mostly as a running back coach after his playing career. However, since becoming a head coach this season, it was the passing and defense that had shined, which was perplexing. Nevertheless, Lynn still had his unique understanding of the running back position.

In his view, perhaps the Los Angeles Chargers held the key to breaking the stalemate—

The fifteenth week of the regular season began with a bang.

Indeed, the Los Angeles Chargers started the game by intensifying their ground defense.

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Lynn kept up with the league’s trends, and aside from the defensive line and linebackers, cornerbacks joined the ranks of ground defense.

Cornerbacks used to prioritise a lighter physique since they had to match up with wide receivers, emphasising speed, agility, and explosive power; however, after the advent of the "Bombing Corps", larger cornerbacks began to rise to prominence. Despite being slightly slower, their strength, combativeness, and technique could compensate. They were not only able to cover wide receivers, but could also match up with tight ends, and most importantly, they could blitz—

Cornerbacks started to play the role of wild cards in applying pressure on the quarterback and ground defense.

The Los Angeles Chargers’ starting cornerbacks, Casey Hayward and Trevor Williams, were not among the larger cornerbacks. Both weighed around 190 pounds (87 kilograms), known for their speed and agility. This season, both had shown Pro Bowl caliber performance in pass defense, remaining integral to the team’s lingering playoff hopes.

However, neither man’s strengths included blitzing quarterbacks or defending against the run.

In this game, Lynn changed his strategy by moving Hayward and Williams’ positions forward. He didn’t expect them to completely halt the Kansas City Chiefs’ running game but rather aimed to use the numerical advantage to create disruption, hoping to avoid Lee Wei breaking free for major yardage gains, and to invert the Chargers’ second-to-last ground defense standing in the league.

On the other side of the field, the Kansas City Chiefs seemed oblivious to the unease in the locker room and also to the Chargers’ defensive strategy adjustments. They continued the balanced attack of running and passing they had maintained throughout their previous games, with a slight emphasis on passing—

This was nothing new in Reed’s playbook.

By the time Lynn realized it was a smoke bomb, it was already too late.

Smith found his team’s top wide receiver, Hill, with a fourteen-yard pass. Taking advantage of the Chargers’ secondary fully committing forward, Hill broke through for a sixty-four-yard dash to the end zone, effortlessly scoring a touchdown.

As it turned out, Lee Wei was again playing the role of a decoy. Passing was the Kansas City Chiefs’ main focus in the first half; a glance at the statistics made this clear, as Lee Wei had only six carries for twenty-seven yards in the entirety of the first half.

Lynn: Damn.

"6:10".

At the end of the first half, the Kansas City Chiefs headed into the locker room with a narrow lead, nullifying Lynn’s meticulously planned strategy.

Now, thinking back to the fully focused Kansas City Chiefs, Lynn knew everyone including the media had been played.

Returning for the second half, the Los Angeles Chargers reverted to their original battle plan—de-emphasizing ground defense and concentrating on their strength in pass defense, with all their offensive hopes placed in the hands of quarterback Rivers.

Meanwhile, Reed also displayed his cunning, sticking to a balanced attack in the second half but slightly favoring the running game. Lee Wei continued to perform steadily, while Hunter shone brilliantly, receiving and running all over the field.

It was evident that after two-thirds of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs’ gameplay had become increasingly synchronized and fluid, with seamless offensive and defensive transitions, even exceeding the spirited performance that had won them games in the first six weeks, showcasing their collective strength.

In the second half, as the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs settled into their familiar patterns, the Chargers failed to find any opportunities. They were completely overpowered on both offense and defense, quite similar to their last game against the Oakland Raiders, with the game quickly falling into the Chiefs’ rhythm.

The game ended rather abruptly.

"13:30".

The visiting team scores first, followed by the home team.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.