Dominate the Super Bowl

"Ariana, Ariana..."

The voice calling out echoed through the long corridors of the concert venue, but Ariana Grande kept lifting her dress and jogging without slowing down.

Bursting into the dressing room, she immediately opened her tablet, turned on the NFL Network, and without even sitting down, stood breathlessly watching the screen.

Only when the live stream appeared did a big smile spread across Ariana's face.

"Ah, great, the game isn't over."

After the Grammy Awards ceremony in February this year, Ariana officially kicked off her world tour, showcasing her charm on stage.

The career bottleneck that was long untouchable finally saw the light of day, as the album "Thank-You, Next" successfully broke the shackles, ushering Ariana into her first period of major success, with the world tour achieving huge success amid a sea of applause.

In Ariana's view, it was all thanks to that man.

He gave her courage, he gave her confidence, like a ray of dawn illuminating the endless darkness and chaos.

In September, a new NFL season began, but unfortunately, Ariana's world tour happened to be in Europe, following the conclusion of the first North America tour to start the second round.

Despite her eager desire to witness the game live at Arrowhead Stadium, she had to suppress the urge and stick to her commitments.

However, this didn't stop her from watching the live broadcast of the game.

Just now, having finished rehearsal and soundcheck, Ariana didn't even bother to change her clothes; her first action was to dash into the dressing room and start the live stream.

"19:34."

Glancing at the score, Ariana was puzzled:

What happened?

In Ariana's limited football knowledge, she couldn't figure out how the Baltimore Ravens got nineteen points; the numbers just didn't add up.

If it were three touchdowns, then it would be twenty-one points; so, was it one touchdown and four field goals? And what about the Kansas City Chiefs?

However, with the Kansas City Chiefs leading at home, that's a good thing.

Sounds and heavy breathing came from behind, and without turning around, Ariana knew it had to be her assistant, Genna Rex.

"Genna, we're leading by fifteen points, so... does that mean two possessions?"

Genna didn't have time to catch her breath, wide-eyed, "Are you asking me?" She still didn't quite understand what football was about.

Ariana didn't hear Genna's response, focusing intently on the tablet because—

The Kansas Chiefs Offense was on the field.

Amidst a sea of red, she immediately caught the sight of number twenty-three's back, as familiar cheers erupted from Arrowhead Stadium.

Genna exhaled a long breath, "Ariana, sit down first, sit down and watch the live stream."

Ariana nodded absently in agreement, yet remained standing, transfixed on the tablet screen, her mind swirling with thoughts.

"Fly!"

"Fly!"

With the advantage of two possessions, the Kansas City Chiefs needed to seize the opportunity to further extend the lead, and this game indeed was as intense as predicted.

Involuntarily, Ariana held her breath.

The situation was indeed more tense than the score suggested, as the struggling Baltimore Ravens were mounting a comprehensive counterattack, their morale and form rising all around, with Harbaugh's defensive tactics constantly shifting and adjusting, once again showcasing the strong foundation of the Baltimore Ravens Defense.

Harbaugh realized a key point.

The Kansas Chiefs' offensive tactics today were innovative and evolving, leaving the Baltimore Ravens already behind in pre-game preparation, and with no better options for in-game adjustments; but at least they could reduce damage and control the situation.

From the new "Motion" to Li Wei holding the ball to Hill and Hardman posing dual threats in deep areas, the Baltimore Ravens Defense's most severe challenge so far lay in:

Backfield defense.

After opening the game, the Kansas Chiefs' Offense often had the Baltimore Ravens' defense scrambling in confusion, psychologically suppressed by the opponent, letting the opponent drive long distances with lengthy touchdowns, a double blow in terms of both psychology and tactics for the defensive group.

Furthermore, Harbaugh noticed that despite Mahomes still attempting long passes, the core of Kansas City Chiefs' offensive tactics today was short passing.

Including "Motion tactics."

Previously, the Baltimore Ravens tried to use man-to-man defense, stepping up to guard closely quite quickly, either to stop the pass or complete a tackle soon after catching; but facts proved such defensive strategies were blown apart, with Li Wei's existence as a decoy completely disrupting the layout.

Now, Harbaugh completed the adjustment—

Zone defense.

Simply put, Harbaugh gave up trying to cut off Kansas City Chiefs' offense, allowing Mahomes to complete the pass or Li Wei to slightly push forward; meanwhile, Harbaugh gave the Baltimore Ravens Defense room to adjust, waiting for Kansas City Chiefs' offensive tactics to unfold before catching up with the defense.

Harbaugh was not bothered letting Kansas City Chiefs make advancements but instead focused on cutting off the continuation and expansion of their offense, prohibiting them from gaining long yardage.

"Motion offense" was the same, thus far with Kansas City Chiefs' two "Motions" being short passes, relying on slick and quick strategies to offset positions, enabling the receiver to enter an uncovered area to not only catch with ease but also maintain momentum forward.

Baltimore Ravens needed to stop thinking about how to crack these tactics and shift focus to how to extinguish the opponent's momentum quickly after the catch and end this play.

Hence, zone defense, Baltimore Ravens needed to slightly spread their entire defensive stance.

Of course, at the same time, they needed to maintain constant front-line pressure; they couldn't let Mahomes get into a free and easy passing state.

After an adjustment, this group of blue-collar Baltimore Ravens players quickly found their rhythm; they no longer pursued matching Kansas City Chiefs' rhythm and frequency but instead followed their own pace, even if slightly slower, maintaining patience and calmness, the subsequent reaction still accomplishing the task.

And Reed, what about him?

Welcome!

The reason lies in the fact that with Kansas City Chiefs currently having lead, they don't need to chase a fast pace but instead can slow down to consume game time; seeing Baltimore Ravens' Defensive group's pace slowing, Kansas City Chiefs also went along to slow the tempo.

Hence, the game became tedious.

Second Gear and Third Gear situations appeared frequently, and fouls began to increase amid the back-and-forth, with none of the prior fluidity and perfection but replaced with tension, tightness, and a tug-of-war that showcased the essence of a positional battle brilliantly.

Reed wasn't in a hurry, firmly holding the initiative, he knew that on the surface, Harbaugh wasn't in a rush; but as time passed, Harbaugh had to be in a rush because even if the Baltimore Ravens Defense completed a three-and-out this time, they wouldn't have enough time to turn around the score deficit.

The key was, when would the Baltimore Ravens Defense choose to switch up and launch a surprise attack?

Harbaugh was waiting for the right moment, to deal a deadly blow when the Kansas City Chiefs became slack.

Then—

It came!