Dominate the Super Bowl

"Rookie vs. Goat"?

Ha ha.

Brady walked onto the field with absolute calm and confidence, believing, not just believing but knowing, that he could turn the game around.

This confidence wasn't baseless—

Throughout the game, the New England Patriots had only one punt, which was during the last offensive wave in the fourth quarter. Every other advancement scored, either touchdowns or field goals, without a single mishap.

Indeed, Brady wasn't at his best today but he was ready to teach the rookie a lesson about what it means to be the league's top player, what it means to be the greatest of all time:

Winning when at your best is expected; any professional player should be able to do that, otherwise they might as well go back to farming; but it is greatness to find a way to win even when not at your best.

Brady indeed had a few tricks up his sleeve.

The offensive line, just scolded by Brady, elevated their performance, providing solid and reliable pocket protection and buying time for Brady.

Facing third gear difficulties in two consecutive offenses, Brady still managed to find gaps and make the conversions during the crucial moments.

Brady was performing a CPR on the offense of the New England Patriots, not only extending their life but also moving closer to mid-field and firmly seizing the initiative.

The key was tight end Gronkowski.

Previously, for a long time, the role of tight ends was more focused on blocking and covering. Although they played a role in receiving, their bulky size and slow speed—somewhere between a running back and a wide receiver—made their positioning unclear and their function relatively limited.

That was until two players changed the history:

Graham from the New Orleans Saints and Gronkowski from the New England Patriots.

Their strength and physique gave them greater combat and breakthrough abilities, allowing them even to play an armor-piercing role; combined with their remarkable speed, their powerful drives often continued even after encounters.

They merged the best traits of running backs and wide receivers, playing irreplaceable roles, and completely turned around the position of the tight end in an era dominated by passing.

Fans often joke about the offensive tactics of the New England Patriots:

"Third gear targets big Gronk."

That is, in third gear troubles, Brady would nine times out of ten look for Gronkowski, who could solve problems through his individual capability even if the defensive group had seen through the tactics, and they simply couldn't stop him.

Some teams even had to defend him with two or three players during third gear offenses, a tactic that might lead to losing sight of other threats and the tri-defensive focus might still fail to stop him, turning into a real disaster.

This was Gronkowski's capability.

And now, it was the same.

In two consecutive third gear difficulties, Brady invariably connected with Gronkowski, relying on his most reliable and stable passing target to solve issues—

Old-fashioned, but effective.

How to stop Gronkowski was a problem for the entire league to ponder.

Until Allen Bailey, the defensive end of the Kansas City Chiefs, provided an answer, at least a way to attack the problem.

First and ten.

As the lines clashed together, Bailey immediately noticed Brady's intent to connect with Gronkowski and prepared to catch the defensive group off guard.

After all, this was first gear, not third.

But!

Bailey, highly focused, immediately saw through Brady's intention to connect with Gronkowski, stood up straight and raised his hands, forming a blocking net akin to a volleyball match.

Today, Brady's passing was mediocre, especially in controlling the short-pass area. This pass's trajectory wasn't high enough and was directly intercepted by Bailey.

It was almost an interception, just barely missed.

The whole Gillette Stadium broke out in a cold sweat, including Brady himself.

Gronkowski, full of energy, could only watch helplessly as the pass was intercepted midway, with no way to reclaim it.

After a narrow escape, Brady immediately realized the situation was becoming even more tense.

Second and ten.

If they didn't want to face a long third gear must-risk long pass situation, then the second gear offense had to be smarter and more daring.

Indeed, that was the case, Brady was preparing for a second try to throw a long pass.

However, the Kansas City Chiefs Defense, which had been suppressed throughout the first three quarters, indeed showed an astonishing performance in the fourth quarter.

Raid!

It was not just a raid, as linebacker Justin Houston, like a dagger from the outside, broke through and within two to three steps, he had entered the pocket and ferociously pounced towards Brady.

Brady: "Crap."

Usually, Brady might have hurriedly thrown the ball to avoid being sacked, but now, at the most crucial moment of the game with so little time left, not taking risks meant no chance at all.

Therefore, Brady continued to hold the ball, twisting and turning, trying to dodge Houston's tackle and still looking for a passing target to turn this crisis around.

Facing Brady, who was staggering like an old cart, Houston naturally wouldn't miss this big opportunity.

A dive, a hug.

Houston accurately wrapped up Brady and unmercifully crumpled him into a ball.

Ha!

The entire Gillette Stadium gasped, but the cries of shock hadn't even had a chance to come out.

"Fumble!"

"God!"

"The football has slipped out of Brady's arms, a fatal fumble."

The commentators were stunned, watching Brady being mercilessly tossed around like a rag, and amid the chaos, the football broke free.

"Houston!"

"Justin Houston, he actually controlled the football before Brady."

"Turnover!"

"The first turnover of the game, the Kansas City Chiefs Defense seized the throat of fate with an unparalleled performance at the critical moment."

"Intensity! Explosion!"

"When we keep discussing what the Kansas City Chiefs are missing, what are we really talking about?"

"It's this very scene. It's the ability of the team to continuously make major advances in ground attacks, and the defensive group's tough tactics to continuously break the momentum of the opponent's offense, even making turnovers."

"Now, the control of the game has come to the hands of Kansas City Chiefs."

"On the screen, you can see Brady very angry, his emotions out of control again."

Damn!

Brady ultimately couldn't control himself, furiously throwing his helmet to the ground and cursing loudly.

Damn damn damn!

A short pass in first gear was nearly intercepted.

A long pass in second gear encountered a sack and a lost ball.

The New England Patriots's offensive attempt faced immense pressure, and Brady didn't even get a chance to connect with Gronkowski before being forced off the field.

This also meant that they needed to hope for an incredible mistake by the Kansas Chiefs Offense, otherwise, victory in this game no longer belonged to them.

Leading for almost three quarters of the game, only to be crushed in the fourth quarter?

What was going on, what kind of script was this?

Even the weather-beaten Brady lost control.

"Damn!"

Now, with only sixty-three seconds left in the game, it was clear as day that the Kansas City Chiefs would use a ground attack to run out the clock. They didn't need to advance, just to let time run out to secure the victory, unless the rookie running back also fumbled.

Wait, wait—

No... could it really be...?