American Football: Domination

"Jesus Christ!"

"This is absolutely thrilling, absolutely incredible. The Kansas City Chiefs' secondary, which has been struggling and inconsistent all season, suddenly found their rhythm in the divisional round and erupted with this kind of energy."

"But, wow."

"But! In this divisional game, Murray seemed to feel the atmosphere of the stadium, and at a crucial moment he found his state. In single coverage against Hilton, he jumped a step early, swatted the ball away before Hilton could leap, and completely killed Indianapolis' desperate counterattack attempt."

"Three-and-out."

"With Fuller before, and now Murray, the Colts' No. 1 receiver Hilton committed two fatal errors in this drive. In one-on-one situations he failed to deliver. So—is this Hilton playing poorly, or the Chiefs' supposedly flimsy secondary suddenly rising up?"

"Of course, don't forget Jones. Wow, Chris Jones is simply a beast. The energy he showed on this defensive series ignited the entire Arrowhead Stadium."

Praise poured in, one line after another.

This was absolutely unexpected, a shock — yet it happened anyway.

The stage was set, the lights ready, the whole world's eyes locked on Luck, waiting for the "Chosen One" to put on a dazzling performance. But Jones, Fuller, Murray, and other defensive players stormed the stage, threw chaos into the script, and stole the spotlight.

In the end, they flipped the stage completely, forcing the supposed star into a humiliating exit.

For over six minutes, the Colts had driven past midfield. Luck again proved his skill, getting his team into field goal range, and Reich even gambled on a deep strike to the end zone. But the Chiefs' defense answered back.

A thunderbolt to the head!

Murray: "Ahhh! Ahhh!"

Murray stood at the edge of the end zone, roaring like the Hulk, unleashing a scream that ignited Arrowhead Stadium. Together, the fans erupted into a deafening chant—

"Defense!"

"Defense!"

The world trembled, even the ground seemed to quiver. Arrowhead's belief and energy radiated outward, delivering a perfect start to this divisional round.

And yet, that was only the beginning.

"Ohhh, touchdown! That's a touchdown! From Kelce!"

"Kelce with a thirteen-yard receiving touchdown, and the Chiefs' offense remains unstoppable. This time the score comes from the tight end."

…

"Wait, wait—what's this play?"

"Fake handoff, but the runner isn't Lance—it's… Hill?"

"Is this a Chiefs special?"

"The Colts' defense never saw this coming. Their eyes were locked on Mahomes and Lance, and when Hill burst through, they completely lost their shape."

"Hill. Hill!"

"He sidesteps one tackle!"

"He sidesteps a second tackle!"

"Hill's footwork is dazzling, making the most of his speed. The Chiefs' top back Lance may feel a little threatened—Hill's rushing is gorgeous."

"Fifteen yards!"

"Thirty yards!"

"Unstoppable! He's gone! Hill's run has blown through the defense, the Colts are in total chaos!"

"Forty-five yards!"

"Fifty yards!"

"He's still going!"

"The Colts' defense can't recover."

"Hill… TOUCHDOWN!"

"Sixty-three yards, a long breakaway rushing touchdown! I never saw that coming!"

"If it were Lance? Sure, no problem, we'd expect it. But Hill? I never imagined a wide receiver would moonlight as a running back, let alone break out like this in the divisional round."

"A sixty-three-yard rushing touchdown, and Hill made it look as easy as breathing."

"Wow, another level of play."

"Touchdown! The Chiefs score again, completely destroying the Colts, totally dominating the first half."

"Incredible."

"Five years ago, in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, Andrew Luck led the Colts to a '45–44' win over the Chiefs. That game was called the Indianapolis Miracle."

"It remains a playoff classic to this day."

"Now, the Colts will need another miracle to turn this around and defeat the AFC's No. 1 seed."

"A massive challenge."

The game was turning into a blowout.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't surprising—this is the playoffs, anything can happen. In the tension and pressure of single elimination, any outcome is possible, even the complete collapse of a strong team.

What's more, pregame analysis already favored Kansas City. Most expected them to win; victory was supposed to be theirs by right.

But a first half this lopsided still shocked everyone.

"7:28."

The defending champions held a commanding lead, crushing their opponent on both sides of the ball.

The Colts only flickered briefly in the opening drive before being extinguished, sinking into chaos.

One-sided.

For Indianapolis, the situation was dire—worse than they could've imagined. To have any chance at all, they would need to claw for a miracle.

Worse still, because the Colts had opened the game on offense, it meant the Chiefs would receive the ball to start the second half—already way ahead, with a chance to extend the gap.

The pit was getting deeper.

Leonard felt like a pile of dog shit—no, worse than garbage.

In the locker room, he looked at Luck sitting calmly with eyes closed, unmoved by the shouting and finger-pointing swirling around him. In that calm expression, Leonard thought he saw resignation, a breath of hopelessness.

His chest seized.

Yes. If the defense couldn't stop the Chiefs' offense, what difference would it make if Andrew Luck became a god on the field?

Two years ago in the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots pulled off the unprecedented comeback against the Atlanta Falcons. Everyone showered Tom Brady with praise for another miracle. But people forgot something—

In the second half and overtime, the Patriots' defense completely shut down the league MVP Matt Ryan and his Falcons offense. After putting up 28 points in the first half, they never scored again.

Before Brady's comeback, the defense laid the foundation. They were the overlooked heroes.

Taking a deep breath, Leonard steadied himself. Through the chaos, he walked over to Luck, patted his quarterback on the shoulder.

"Andy, leave it to me. We'll lay the foundation for the team's comeback."

TL note:

This is where I'll be wrapping up this novel. I know it never really gained much traction, there hasn't been much support on Patreon or activity in the comments, and that's okay. Not every project finds its audience, and I'd rather focus my time and energy on stories that you all are more excited about.

That being said, I still want to thank everyone who did read along, even quietly. Every view, every bit of time you gave to this story means something to me.

For those who want to keep following my work, I'll be putting my energy into other projects moving forward. In fact, I'm releasing a brand new cyberpunk fic tomorrow titled Cyberpunk: Ragnarök, I'd love for you to give it a try. And of course, my other ongoing translations and stories are continuing strong, so there's still plenty to look forward to.

Maybe one day I'll come back to this novel if the interest is there. Until then, thank you again for reading.

Sincerely,Michael