Looking up, Levi could see a hand—
From the Chung Family.
Although they were opponents on the field, seeing an Asian face in the NFL, aside from the jerseys, was still quite rare, gathering like sparks of fire.
Levi grabbed Chung Family's right hand and leveraged himself up to stand.
Chung Family immediately let go, "Be careful, next time I won't let you get that far."
After speaking, Chung Family patted Levi's shoulder, flashed a smile, and without waiting for a response, turned and ran back to get ready for formation.
Watching Chung Family's retreating figure, Levi also revealed a hint of a smile, he had just warmed up, the New England Patriots really needed to brace themselves, otherwise, it would all be as unchallenging as Butler.
Levi let out a light sigh and quickly returned to his position in the offensive group—
At this moment, one could clearly notice the increasing number of eyes flocking from all directions, including Cornerback Butler, outside linebacker James Harrison, and other bustling gazes.
Shock. Anger. Excitement.
Each pair of eyes was like a laser, Butler couldn't believe his humiliation, Harrison couldn't believe his hit had missed, and what was destined to be a close, tight grasp turned into Levi's showcase.
Last season's top-ranked defending group didn't plan to be mere backdrops or stepping stones in Levi's professional debut, but now they too were somewhat bemused.
The New England Patriots' defense was guessing:
A burst at the start, then quiet for most of the game, and now suddenly aggressive?
What kind of play is this? Geysers in the Grand Canyon? Bursting out occasionally, but no one knows when the next occurrence will be or its intensity?
Combined with the rumors of the preseason, the looks on Levi became strangely speculative, what is this One Punch Man-like bizarre script?
So, do they need to specifically guard against Levi, or is it unnecessary?
"Wow, this is a variable."
"The Kansas City Chiefs opened the game with a rare decoy run tactic, rookie Running Back Levi displayed his individual skills, enduring three tackles and hits yet still advanced fifteen yards, bringing something new to the visiting team's offense."
"The point is, is this type of variability accidental, or can it continue?"
At the Kansas City Chiefs' forty-yard line, first and ten.
So, what offensive tactic will the Kansas City Chiefs' offense choose next?
The New England Patriots didn't care, their defense preemptively surged forward to pressure the pass.
Along with Smith's starting command, one could immediately feel the tremendous pressure bearing down, catching the offensive line off guard.
The home team chose a five-man blitz.
The defensive line decisively pressed forward, with a ruthlessly illogical stance to break open the pocket.
So to speak, by turning passivity into aggression, the defense broke the deadlock first; but the act of blitzing implied the belief that the opponent would choose to pass, since the essence of blitzing is to apply pressure to the quarterback.
This, indeed, made sense.
Reed usually prefers to pass, Smith's passing was indeed exceptional today, and the offensive previously advanced by besetting on the ground, then turned and passed...
Blah blah blah, put altogether, the New England Patriots chose a raid, trying to catch Smith off guard and disrupt the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive rhythm.
The strategy was clever and aggressive.
Tear, the pocket split.
One could instantly see Smith, helpless as a white-tailed deer, standing in the pocket, though his footwork wasn't as clumsy as Manning and Brady, he too was a typical traditional pocket quarterback, practically helpless before the ferocious onslaught of the defensive line.
The tackle was moments away.
Where was the football?
It wasn't in Smith's hands.
The ferocious Defensive group stood frozen like chickens, as if they had just learned their stocks had plummeted, their brains losing the ability to judge.
At that moment, a blur of white had already sprinted to freedom in advance, leaving a fleeting shadow marked "23" racing wildly in the corner of their vision.
Run... running the ball?
Indeed, Reed had exceptionally called the running play tactic twice in a row.
This time without any trickery, Smith briskly handed the football to Levi, securing an early lead for him as Levi broke away from the right side, outrunning the Defensive group before they could tear through the pocket.
Ahead, Kelsey was clearly visible.
Following closely, Levi took shelter behind Kelsey who paved the way, stealthily concealing his movements—
The Defensive End on the left reacted a moment too late to Levi's presence, starting to accelerate for an intercept, but Levi had already dashed forward like a ghost, his steps crossing the scrimmage line mercilessly as he pushed forward.
Bang, bang, bang, the sounds of heavy blows were all left behind him.
But the Patriots' Defensive group reacted swiftly the second time, timing their defensive line press and intercept moves to form an encirclement, reminiscent of a scene from a Western film—
Levi and Kelsey were trapped in an ambush, alone and outnumbered bursting through the heavens.
From the corner of his eye, Kelsey saw a Cornerback breaking from the right, surged forward, and collided with him using his size advantage, sending the Cornerback flying away.
First, it was Butler from New England's right wing, and then a Cornerback from the left wing, both Patriots' Cornerbacks soaring high.
Kelsey still had energy to spare and, spotting Levi already sprinting forward, prepared to follow and then saw the enclosing trap ahead. Enjoy more content from empire
Kelsey cursed under his breath, contemplating how to break through, when he saw Levi without hesitation charging into a player—
Handling a brawl alone against many, what do you do?
Targeting the weakest opponent to breach, enduring others' punches but concentrating on that single soft target to recover.
Oddly enough, Kelsey thought of this.
Levi didn't shy away from the head-on collision, seizing a relatively less robust player and quickly capturing the subtle details of the opponent's footing and balance, maintaining agility and instantly collided with him.
Then, he exerted force, like a bulldozer.
Power, burst forth instantly.
As the saying goes, "You don't turn back until you hit the south wall"; but in a football field, even after hitting the south wall, one couldn't turn back as they were still expected to push down that wall.
Power, in waves emanating from the depths of the Dantian, Levi's steps forcefully collided with the layers of reinforcements pushing onward, like a strongman challenging the Guinness Records, fiercely pressing forward against a person.
Then, a figure appeared beside Levi:
Following that, the backing forces from the opposite side also accumulated.
Wave after wave, layer by layer, the struggle over territory quickly turned into close-quarters combat, watching as the Kansas Chiefs' ground push met resistance but unbelievably pressed forward bit by bit—
This was true close-quarters combat, instantly entering Spartan 300 warriors mode, a war machine forged with flesh and bone, a clash of strength and musculature, reaching its peak in this very moment.