Capítulo 1411: Chapter 1410: Dreams Come True
“The field goal is perfectly struck! The San Francisco 49ers have nearly extinguished any suspense, with one foot and three-quarters of their body already through the gate of the Super Bowl.”
“Of course, we cannot ignore the Green Bay Packers, and no one can ignore Aaron Rodgers. As long as he is on the field, anything is possible.”
“But now, the score gap has widened to seventeen points, three possessions, with four minutes and thirty-one seconds left in the game. Even for Rodgers, facing such a situation, it seems unlikely to turn things around. Perhaps even the Kansas City Chiefs would struggle to reverse this predicament.”
“Oh, no, maybe Li Wei can still turn decay into magic. After all, we’ve witnessed Li Wei leading the Kansas City Chiefs to create many miracles.”
“For the San Francisco 49ers, the Kansas City Chiefs will be the ultimate challenge. But now, they can’t think about the Kansas City Chiefs; they must focus on the present. The Green Bay Packers could still give them a scare, and even if they can’t overturn the game, they can still take a chunk out of the San Francisco 49ers.”
At Reeves Field, San Francisco 49ers’ home fans are in collective frenzy, their synchronized singing deafening, erupting with unbelievable energy.
The scoreboard displays “20:37”, with the visiting team first and the home team second.
The score, particularly glaring.
The encounter between the number one seed San Francisco 49ers and the number two seed Green Bay Packers in the National Conference finals’ showdown is undoubtedly the league’s greatest anticipation, especially after the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens were unexpectedly eliminated one after another, all eyes were focused on the National Conference’s peak showdown.
Eliminating the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs to win the night game qualification reveals the league’s intentions.
An encounter akin to the “Huashan Swordsmanship Meeting,” a collision of the titans, a direct confrontation, where bravery determines the winner, in the anticipation of who among the heroes will prove the strongest in the National Conference and proudly advance to the Super Bowl, joining forces with the Kansas City Chiefs for a final showdown at the Summit of the Forbidden to conclude the 2019 season with a perfect ending.
At that time, whether the Kansas City Chiefs create history with an undefeated record to complete the triumphant three-peat or the National Conference champion breaks the two-time defending champion’s undefeated season to return to the throne—be it the San Francisco 49ers or the Green Bay Packers, both are traditional champion teams with glorious histories; for the league, any result would be good news, pushing this season, full of hopes and dreams, to a new peak.
Goodell’s calculations are snapping noisily, with the league standing on unbeaten ground.
However, while the ideals are rich, reality is skinny. The actual game progress caught everyone by surprise, completely overturning all expectations.
The San Francisco 49ers came prepared!
Head Coach Shanahan knows the Green Bay Packers’ Head Coach LaFleur inside out, after all, they worked together for many years; strictly speaking, along with Los Angeles Rams Head Coach McVay, the three comrades shared weal and woe, advancing together in the Professional League.
And Shanahan has been the core of the three-man team, not just a “second generation,” but with the network heritage and industry reputation left by his legendary father coach, whose creativity, imagination, and execution are also the best among the three, always playing the brain and leader roles.
So, Shanahan knows LaFleur’s strategy to a degree that makes one suspect he has placed a spy in the Green Bay Packers.
From the start, the San Francisco 49ers attacked the Green Bay Packers ferociously on both offensive and defensive ends, with LaFleur’s pre-game arrangements and tactical intentions, which had been impressively refreshing in the coaching position this season, being totally deciphered, and even the modern outside-zone offense system seemed ineffective in front of Shanahan.
“0:27”.
By halftime, the San Francisco 49ers seemingly declared the game over early, not only blowing up the opponent on offense, but what’s truly incredible is the defensive group so thoroughly baffled the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers offensive group, whose fierce and stormy defense directly shut out the previously unstoppable Rodgers.
The league, in shock, can’t make sense of it.
On the surface, the 2019 season has been a year of the offensive groups’ brilliance, with the Cheating Motion, the modern outside-zone offense system, and the fully evolved modern quarterback executing flowing, unstoppable offense that made defensive groups retreat, dimming; everything aligned with the league’s expectations.
Data, don’t lie.
Among the season’s top six league-ranked defensive teams, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers were all annihilated—either stopped at the playoffs or out in the first round, unable to survive a match.
Thus, within the Conference finals, the season’s highest-ranked defensive group surprisingly was the Kansas City Chiefs, league seventh.
However, on the playoff stage, the regular season’s dominant offensive groups went utterly silent.
First, there was the Tennessee Titans’ “24:0” distant lead over the Kansas City Chiefs, followed by the Baltimore Ravens struggling for any touchdown without success in the first three quarters, and now, the Green Bay Packers experienced a first-half shutdown, with top quarterbacks and top offensive groups collectively lost, completely overturning the season’s impression.
The league is stunned inside out.
Originally, they anticipated a grand battle, but the result… just this?
Before them, this scene is familiar: three years ago, at the Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons faced the New England Patriots. After the third quarter started, the Atlanta Falcons again made a touchdown, reaching a “28:3” lead.
At that time, Shanahan was the Atlanta Falcons’ Offensive Coordinator, and LaFleur was the Atlanta Falcons’ Quarterbacks Coach; they were there witnessing the New England Patriots’ super comeback and resurgence, marking the final glory of the New England Patriots’ dynasty.
Obviously, Shanahan doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes.
But at the same time, LaFleur hopes to replicate the New England Patriots’ miracle; he won’t give up hope, and he refuses to surrender.
In the second half, suspense fully returned.
In the third quarter, LaFleur finally cleared his thoughts, and Rodgers finally found his rhythm; they first scored a touchdown, breaking the score deadlock.
Though the San Francisco 49ers immediately launched a counterattack, responding with a touchdown, the Green Bay Packers and Rodgers’ rising momentum could no longer be contained.
Subsequently, Rodgers led the Green Bay Packers into the Red Zone three times, fully possessing opportunities to tie the game; however, at crucial moments, the San Francisco 49ers exhibited top defensive strength in the Red Zone, gritting their teeth to withstand Rodgers’ onslaught, allowing the Green Bay Packers to secure only one touchdown and two field goals.
Moreover, in the latter half of the fourth quarter, the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive group finally woke up, securing a field goal to stabilize the situation, extinguishing any suspense.
“20:37” is how the score came about.
In the final stages of the game, the Green Bay Packers still had opportunities, yet the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive group once again showcased critical focus and resilience, withstanding Rodgers’ strikes, maintaining the score until the end, and never allowing any surprises to occur, preserving the game result.
Victory belongs to the San Francisco 49ers.
Goodell gently breathed a sigh of relief. The process wasn’t as good as expected, with the tension and excitement only briefly disrupting the situation in the fourth quarter; but regardless, the final result is positive—
The top seed of the American League and the top seed of the National Conference meet in the Super Bowl LIV showdown!