Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 1049 Lure the snake out of its hole
Second gear. Third gear.

Entangled and tense, the entire offensive and defensive confrontation was shattered, and the Kansas City Chiefs stumbled across the half field and lingered near the 43-yard line.

At this time, we were once again in the dilemma of third gear and five yards.

Then, without warning, the Baltimore Ravens changed their tune. After all, the clock was ticking and running out, and they couldn't afford to wait.

However, the so-called variations also hide secrets. Harbaugh pulled out magic from his sleeves and the Baltimore Ravens defense also showed its attitude.

Variation does not mean surprise attack.

Harbaugh knows Mahomes' ability. The risk of a surprise sack is too great. If Mahomes is not sacked, it may become an opportunity for Mahomes to make a fatal long pass. They don't need to insist on a confrontation on the front line to decide the outcome. Don't forget the tradition of the Baltimore Ravens:
Linebacker.

Although the departures of Ray Lewis and Suggs have caused the Baltimore Ravens to change their entire defensive framework, the team's foundation has not been lost.

In this wave of offense and defense, the Baltimore Ravens only used basic three-man pressure, that is, three defensive fronts maintained confrontation, and the linebackers took a step forward to pass the ball, but they faked a shot and scattered without stopping -

The two linebackers were attached to Watkins and Hardman respectively, and the two linebackers showed the posture of zone defense.

Positional defense combined with zone defense!

This is Harbaugh's variation. Without any warning, he tightened the passing defense.

Two linebackers and two cornerbacks are responsible for positional defense, while another two linebackers and two safeties are responsible for zone defense. The entire pass defense sets up a tight net to cut off all of Mahomes' pass targets.

And, this is just the first step.

This was a trap. The Baltimore Ravens deliberately gave Mahomes enough room to move around and unexpectedly withdrew the defensive front line that had always maintained pressure, first cutting off Mahomes' short pass possibilities and then tightly blocking Mahomes' mid-range and long pass possibilities.

So, what's next for Mahomes?
Everything is actually to lure the snake out of its hole. Hubble's real purpose is the next step. The first step is to create chaos and change the rhythm, and the second step is to break the balance and take the initiative.

Linebacker Judon, fully focused.

On the surface, he was moving in the short pass area, and he would go to defend wherever Mahomes passed the ball. This is a typical zone defense strategy.

In fact, his eyes were firmly fixed on Mahomes - not Levi. This was another change in Harbaugh's entire defensive tactics. When people had already habitually believed that Judon's main task tonight was to assist Ferguson in defending Levi, Harbaugh chose to take a risk.

Harbaugh naturally would not miss the biggest loophole in the entire defensive tactics: Levi.

When all four receivers rushed out, the Kansas Chiefs still had a fifth receiver hidden, Levi.

Mahomes could have passed the football to Levi and let Levi break through in the absence of a target.

To this end, the Baltimore Ravens are posturing.

Judon and Ferguson still targeted Levi, and after Levi got the ball, the zone defense network tightened immediately. They did not forget the existence of last season's regular season MVP.

But in fact, Harbaugh was prepared to create a time difference, and when Mahomes relaxed his vigilance and got into trouble, Judon completed the fatal blow.

Whether it's a surprise attack, an effective collision, or forcing Mahomes to make a hasty shot, Judon must break the rhythm of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Once Mahomes got into trouble, Harbaugh believed that Mahomes' subconscious reaction should be to look for Levi, and their subsequent trap would give Levi an unforgettable experience.

One thing leads to another, and Hubble is indeed showing the strength of the Baltimore Ravens. On the surface, it seems that they are pressing in the frontcourt, but in fact they are hiding the truth and luring the snake out of its hole. The real fatal blow is still hidden behind.

If this is just talk, the Baltimore Ravens' defensive strategy does have loopholes, and the Kansas City Chiefs can always find a way to break through.

But it's not.

In a game that was changing rapidly, the Baltimore Ravens had been patiently waiting and looking for a good opportunity, and then without warning, the defense had taken the lead.

Mahomes: No pressure, free air, happiness comes so suddenly; oh, wait, there is no pass target, there is no gap at all.

Everything happened in just one or two seconds.

Mahomes immediately realized the crisis. Even Kelce had no open space. Humphrey blocked the position one step ahead and caught Kelce off guard. This meant that the route to quickly solve the problem in a short period of time was temporarily blocked. He needed to wait for Kelce to run into an open space.

So, medium pass or long pass?
Then, Mahomes calmed down and looked around, and immediately noticed that the Baltimore Ravens did not put pressure on the pass rush.

The situation is a little weird.

In front of him, Mahomes had two choices: either continue to hold the ball, wait for an opening, and make a long pass; or connect with Levi and let Levi break through on the ground.

In a split second, Mahomes was focused. He did not rush to make a decision, but forced himself to calm down and make a secondary defensive read.

Sure enough, Mahomes noticed that Judon was stepping up.

Light and fast, the tiger descends the mountain.

Judon created a time difference, so that the offensive line was unable to step forward in time to block the position, so Judon stepped forward at full speed from the blind side without any obstruction.

Like a submarine.

If it weren't for Mahomes' calm secondary defensive read, he might not have known what was going on until he was sacked.

So, what to do?
"Rookie!"

Mahomes had to improvise and call on the only target he trusted in the pocket at the first opportunity.

Mahomes is reading the defense, and Levy is also reading the defense.

Levi guessed that the Baltimore Ravens might launch a surprise attack because the defensive players were very aware of their body center of gravity leaning forward; as a result, the Baltimore Ravens chose to defend the pass, which left Levi free in the pocket to break the defense.

Levi is thinking about how he should create opportunities for Mahomes. Maybe he can fill Kelce's position and go to the short pass area to receive the ball.

At this point, it can be seen that the quarterback and running back have different positions, different fields of vision, and different ways of thinking.

There was a call from behind, Levi looked back and exchanged a look with Mahomes:
Mind you.

Training together, playing together, analyzing tactical manuals together, there is indeed a tacit understanding between the two.

Levi immediately retreated and returned to Mahomes. There was no time to communicate, and Judon on the blind side had already rushed forward with all his strength.

Levi took a step forward and rushed towards Judon, completing the interception on behalf of Mahomes.

In the gap of the collision, Mahomes took a step back, bypassed the entanglement of Levi and Judon, and moved sideways to his left without any further hesitation.

Charge forward.

Run wild.

Mahomes started, without looking left or right, without looking ahead or behind, he made a prompt decision and ran with the ball.

Switches seamlessly from a passing offense to a read-option offense.

(End of this chapter)