Chapter 1452: Chapter 1451: A Windfall from the Sky
Heh!
The heart, hit head-on.
Garoppolo forced himself to stay calm, but his subconscious quick little adjustments resembled a frightened deer, unintentionally revealing his true emotions.
Nerves were stretched to the extreme, focus was highly concentrated, the passing motion showed no hesitation, yet the moment his hand released, his wrist flicked slightly, deliberately raising the passing arc, trying to break through the obstruction of "Gandalf," embracing freedom.
Whoosh!
The football flew out.
"Gandalf" Chris Jones extended his body and hands to the utmost limit, but due to tackling, his body weight had to lean forward, causing him to continuously lunge. His upper body stretched out entirely but still couldn’t completely block the entire airspace.
The streak of red-brown trajectory rapidly broke through just above Chris Jones’ hands, spinning fast, flying fast, piercing out.
Garoppolo: Got it!
Chris Jones: Just a little.
In an instant, everyone’s sight condensed on the football, which flew over Chris Jones, over the offensive and defensive line tangle, swiftly fell after a short flight, accurately finding Bourne among the crowded players, striking swiftly like a spear.
"Tom Brady!"
At this moment, people finally understood why Garoppolo was praised as "Little Brady." His ability to execute short passes under pressure was a skill learned from Brady.
Furthermore, witnessing this scene on the Super Bowl stage, there was a sense of illusion as if they were witnessing a duel between Brady and Li Wei?
The Kansas City Chiefs Defense was fully tense, linemen, cornerbacks, safeties instinctively charged towards Bourne, but their footsteps couldn’t catch up with the flying speed of the football, leaving them all watching that arc of red-brown descending swiftly towards Bourne.
Maybe, there was one exception:
Bourne himself.
The arc was too high; moreover, the strength was too light, causing the football to float lightly like a feather in the short pass, unable to find its center.
The first reaction, Bourne jumped up entirely, facing skyward, back to the field, breaking free from gravity, his body stretched to the utmost, raised hands high, attempting to intercept along the descending arc of the pass and receive the ball.
But—
Both hands turned into one hand.
Single hand continued to stretch and expand.
Bourne was like a bow drawn to its limit but still unable to accurately assess the descending arc of the football, watching helplessly as it slipped out of his control range.
Ugh.
Reflexively, a surge of energy erupted from Bourne’s body again, with his right fingertips barely brushing the football.
Wait, got it!
Bourne saw the football change trajectory, slightly lifting, joy swelling within.
Yet in the next second, watched as the football’s flight path ascended again, drawing another arc, flying towards the end zone baseline.
Damn!
Bourne’s heart sank heavily, the football gradually shrinking in his pupils, gravity like floodwaters surging all around him.
Then, Bourne saw the startled face of Safety Sorensen.
Sorensen stepping up fully attempting to intercept Bourne, even if Bourne caught the ball, Sorensen could quickly complete the tackle, yet within just one second, shifting focus from tackle to prep for interception to watching the football fly out, his body couldn’t keep up with changes.
Bam!
Bourne collided with Sorensen, both tumbling together.
Behind, another Safety, Matty, prepared to step up and encircle, no matter Bourne and Sorensen’s confrontation, he must complete interception at the end zone front line, being the last defense line for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Steps closely advancing but not rushing too much, avoiding losing position—
That football...
Matty watched the football wobble and float towards the end zone baseline, without even a moment to consider Bourne and Sorensen’s situation, reflexively backed, leaping with each step back, breaking free from gravity and soaring.
A godsend opportunity!
But even if it’s a gift from heaven, opportunities favor the prepared.
Matty highly focused, held breath, light as a swallow, flawlessly controlled steps.
Both hands, a grip.
The weight of the football, clearly felt in the palm.
"Garoppolo!"
"The pass! Amidst tackle crisis, Garoppolo threw before Chris Jones fully stepped up, escaping tackle, his target was..."
"Bourne!"
"No, pass arc was too high, Bourne couldn’t catch it!"
"Matty! Matty completed the catch!"
"Garoppolo connected with Matty..."
"Interception!"
The crowd, bewildered, fell into shock without preparation.
On the field, Matty stood in the end zone completing the interception, stepping lightly without hesitation, charging forward holding the football to counterattack!
Unfortunately, San Francisco 49ers’ offensive players were also crowded at the end zone front, progress slow, Matty couldn’t run far before being swallowed by the crowd, yet Matty still firmly maintained ball control to the ground.
Boom!
Hard Rock Stadium exploded instantly.
"The first turning point of the night appears, the Kansas City Chiefs end zone interception!"
"All happened without warning, Garoppolo performed exceptionally in this drive, completing eight out of ten passes, the fake run pass tactic repeatedly seized initiative, throwing before pressure from the defensive group, leading the San Francisco 49ers close to the Red Zone."
"Yet at the Red Zone edge faces Kansas City Chiefs Defense’s impermeable blockade, Chris Jones became the hero, one stop-tackle and pass vision interference, instantly trapped the San Francisco 49ers."
"Garoppolo’s pass clearly disrupted, arc control issue, failed to connect with Bourne, instead directly delivering the football into opponent safety Matty’s arms, directly burying nearly ten minutes of effort from San Francisco 49ers."
"San Francisco 49ers couldn’t score! No touchdown, no field goal!"
Unexpected, absolutely unexpected!
The give-and-take confrontation and stalemate lasted nearly ten minutes, yet ended abruptly in such way, a clear sense of emptiness instantly arrived.
Don’t just say Garoppolo, even Shanahan’s chest suffered a heavy blow, a brief daze, unable to immediately absorb such immense disparity—
This is the Super Bowl, how much time and effort they spent to reach here, striving completely, burning life, attempting to firmly grasp the opening hold on the game.
The result, just this?
One breath choked in Shanahan’s chest, took some effort to finally swallow it down, he doesn’t have time to be upset and gloomy now, as Kansas Chiefs Offense is ready to attack, just by looking at Mahomes, Kelsey, and Hill you know.
In the first drive, they hadn’t even warmed up, then Li Wei already scored a touchdown, standing on Super Bowl stage yet not feeling like the Super Bowl at all.
Now, they’re ready, prepared to showcase prowess, seizing San Francisco 49ers’ shock and slump moment, continuing to expand lead.
Shanahan took a deep cold breath: Trouble.