Dominate the Super Bowl

Mistakes, deviations, unexpected events, one after another.

In essence, mistakes are just a part of the game. There's no need to make a fuss; they are flesh and blood, prone to errors and fluctuations.

Football games have enough time to allow players and coaches to make mistakes. The focus is on the recovery and adjustment after mistakes, so there's no need to worry.

However, such a dense occurrence of mistakes in one quarter is clearly abnormal.

Moreover, in hindsight, the Special Duty Group's blocked punt, although not a mistake, was still heartbreaking, and it even allowed the opponent to complete a return touchdown.

A fatal blow.

Everything, just not right.

Along with it, Mahomes was also restless.

Although Mahomes didn't suffer sacks, and there wasn't much direct physical contact or pass interference, the disciplined defense of the Tennessee Titans and the energy erupting from within continuously hovered over the pocket like vultures, that shadow flickering.

This resulted in some errors in Mahomes' defensive reading and passing choices, which more or less affected the course of the game.

Details, all about the details.

On the surface, from a broader perspective, it seemed that the Kansas City Chiefs were still the Kansas City Chiefs, with no issues; but these small details, bit by bit, became misaligned, causing the entire offensive system to operate unsmoothly, stumbling, always unable to find the rhythm.

Back and forth, one goes up, another goes down—

Then, the situation became like this.

"21:0."

The Tennessee Titans were far ahead, which also made the game go down in history.

In NFL history, wide margins at halftime are not uncommon, but such a wide gap just by the end of the first quarter is quite rare.

In 1987, during the National Conference finals, at the end of the first quarter, the Washington Redskins led the Minnesota Vikings "21:0", creating a historical margin that still stands as the largest first-quarter lead in playoff history. Unexpectedly, thirty-two years later, the exact same situation appeared again on the field.

History, records—

Once again, it's the Kansas City Chiefs, who in the past three seasons have written countless legendary records, becoming a record-making machine; yet again, this time, the record is not glorious, falling upon this invincible team in an unexpected way.

In the 1987 game, the Washington Redskins laughed last, defeating their opponent by a seventeen-point lead, with the Minnesota Vikings unable to perform a miracle.

Could it be... the Kansas City Chiefs too?

Surprises, shocks, bewilderment, impact.

As expected, the quest for a three-peat is a hurdle; indeed, an undefeated season is a burden—

The Kansas City Chiefs should not have fiercely battled the Los Angeles Chargers for the sake of a vain honor in the last regular-season game. Now they are paying for their arrogance and conceit, even if they won the glory of an undefeated season, so what? Being knocked out in the first playoff game is truly embarrassing.

Despite the Kansas City Chiefs having won their way to the Super Bowl Champions in 2017 through constant comebacks and buzzer-beaters; but that was then, this is now, since the 2019 season, the Kansas City Chiefs have been smooth and strong, used to playing with the lead, while playing from behind is a completely different matter.

It's been a long, long time since the two-time defending champions were so embarrassed.

Allowing the opponent to score three touchdowns in the first quarter alone is bad enough; but what's worse is, the Kansas City Chiefs themselves were shut out.

The situation is urgent.

Now, looking back at the whole situation, first the Baltimore Ravens in the first divisional game had no touchdowns in the first three quarters, and then the Kansas City Chiefs were shutout in the first quarter of the second divisional game, which...

The two most outstanding and dominant offensive groups in the regular season both unexpectedly and inexplicably went cold simultaneously, it's hard to believe if the "home curse" theory holds no weight.

Now, the Kansas City Chiefs are in trouble.

In the 2017 season, the Kansas City Chiefs were the dark horse, the underdog, the challengers who weren't afraid. They had nothing to lose, no retreat, nor fear, even when standing at the edge of the abyss, they still had the tenacity to launch a counterattack.

However, the current situation is different.

The Kansas City Chiefs exhibited strong and smooth performance throughout the season, although they encountered some challenges, they were always able to barely hold on to the game, not letting themselves hang on by a thread on a cliff, now suddenly pushed into such a desperate situation, can the defender still have that kind of boldness?

"It's difficult. The situation is extremely, extremely challenging."

"In some ways, it's even worse than the position of being down twenty-five points in the third quarter for the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons in the 2016 season."

"Because the Kansas City Chiefs have not been able to find their rhythm from the start, and because the Tennessee Titans destroyed their opponent's belief completely by the first quarter, even a strong team like the Kansas City Chiefs at this moment inevitably harbors self-doubt: Can I really win the game?"

"When we talk about miraculous comebacks, the 1992 American League Wild Card Game of the Buffalo Bills' 'The Comeback', the 2016 Super Bowl resurrection of the New England Patriots, the Kansas City Chiefs' consecutive four 'buzzer-beaters' in 2017, are all memorable, but it's important to note that all these games were about trailing at halftime."

"The current situation, however, is a one-sided, complete imbalance, complete crushing by the end of the first quarter, with faith entirely destroyed."

"In NFL history, whether regular season or playoffs, no team has been able to complete a comeback when trailing by twenty or more points at the end of the first quarter."

"None.

"Absolutely none. No team has ever achieved such a feat."

"And now, the Kansas City Chiefs are hoping for a miracle."

"Clearly, we all know the energy and potential contained within this Kansas City Chiefs team, and with halftime adjustments, they still have the capability to counterattack."

"But a significant difference between trailing at the end of the first quarter and trailing at halftime is whether the Kansas City Chiefs can hold on until halftime and return to the locker room?"

"The most pressing and terrifying issue right before us is that the Kansas City Chiefs have no breathing space, while the Tennessee Titans continue to push aggressively."

"Vrabel and Henry have not let their guard down, or rather, they refuse to let their guard down, looking to seize the second quarter to continue their offensive, trying to extend the lead further before halftime adjustments, pushing the Kansas City Chiefs completely into the abyss."

"Once the Tennessee Titans manage to extend the lead further in the second quarter, the chances for the Kansas City Chiefs in this game might disappear bit by bit."

"The Houston Texans just pulled off an upset over the Baltimore Ravens, in an absolutely dominant manner, with the Baltimore Ravens trailing the entire game, something no one expected."

"Now the Tennessee Titans completely drained the fight out of the Kansas City Chiefs by the end of the first quarter, perhaps indeed this playoff is engulfed in a different atmosphere."

"The Kansas City Chiefs need to adjust, but the unfortunate thing is, the Tennessee Titans refuse to give them breathing space, and Reed?"

"What should Reed do about it?"