Cold, piercing to the bone.
The game hadn't started yet, but Li Wei had already unlocked a brand-new experience in his professional career.
Last season in the NCAA, the regular season wrapped up before December, and subsequent games were all scheduled in the sunny, spring-like warmth of the south, completely free from concerns about cold temperatures and rainy or snowy weather.
For Li Wei, mixed martial arts events almost always took place indoors; while cross-country running indeed required facing weather changes and environmental impacts, event organizations aimed to avoid the influence of sudden adverse conditions, and the events were typically concentrated between March and November.
In other words, outdoor competitions in winter were a whole new thing to Li Wei.
His first NFL season was a fresh challenge in every way.
Last month, the Kansas City Chiefs' four games—three in Kansas City and one in Miami—only hinted at winter outdoor events; however, stepping into the below-freezing Foxborough for the playoffs was a different story altogether.
At first glance, the temperature wasn't frightening, and there weren't any accumulating clouds in the sky; but the moment he stepped onto the pitch, goosebumps swept over his body in an instant, and screams were released as every patch of skin felt the onslaught of the cold wave's magic attack—
During the warm-up phase, he could deeply sense the stark difference of Foxborough tonight.
Li Wei had a premonition that this would be an arduous game.
And indeed, he was right.
"Danger, the pocket has broken down again!"
"Van Noy! New England Linebacker Kyle Van Noy brought out 120% form in this game, he's gone completely mad, unstoppably charging past the offensive line and cutting into the pocket."
"Li Wei, Li Wei is trying to block, but Belichick has already foreseen this scene; cornerback Malcolm Butler's rush is undoubtedly a surprise. Li Wei is outnumbered, he must choose one or the other."
"Van Noy is charging at Smith."
"Smith is dodging, Smith is scrambling, Smith refuses to give up and surrender!"
"God, Smith was about to throw the ball when Van Noy's sack took him by surprise, his arm couldn't raise in time, and the fierce collision caused a fumble."
"Li Wei shook off Butler's clutches, covered the fumble, avoiding the Kansas City Chiefs' nightmare scenario of a turnover. Li Wei has saved the Chiefs again."
"The situation is grim, the Kansas City Chiefs are now facing a serious challenge."
Li Wei fell to the ground, curling up tightly like a shrimp, protecting the football in his embrace, until the sea of proud blue dispersed, and Smith in white lifted him from the ground.
His chest heaved like a bellows, his throat tickled, and a surge of retching threatened to erupt, but Li Wei forcefully swallowed it down, his gaze burning fiercely as he stared at the New England defense celebrating across the field, biting down on his teeth, his eyes flashing with a hint of murderous intent.
He turned back to Smith, tossed the football to the referee, "You all right?"
Smith, gasping like a bull, his white away jersey spattered like a five-year-old's canvas, black and white in patches, no longer resembling anything decent. The face behind the helmet was drenched in sweat, flushed red, hair wetly sticking to his forehead, looking as if he'd just been fished out of water.
Smith was too spent to speak, simply waving his hand at Li Wei.
This was the current state of the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional playoffs.
This season, the New England Patriots continue to lead with an overwhelming comprehensive strength, ranked second in offense and fifth in defense in the League, demonstrating a balance and all-around excellence that once again shows their dominance over the League.
However, overall, this is still a team where the offense is stronger than the defense, with Brady undoubtedly being the core of the core, leading the team forward.
Just as "within the League" Lawson had predicted, like in the first wildcard game, the Defensive group played a crucial role.
If you just analyze the data, the Patriots' Defensive group is not dominant, ranking thirtieth in pass defense—that's third from the bottom—and twentieth in rush defense—clearly also in the lower tier of the League. So how does the team's Defensive group rank among the top five overall?
The answer is defensive efficiency.
Like the Kansas City Chiefs last season, the New England Patriots' Defensive group can show intensity when it matters most. Their Red Zone defense is the fifth in the League, and their average defensive quality per play is ranked fourth, absolutely solid.
Before the game, the Kansas City Chiefs were mentally prepared for a tough battle.
But the reality was slightly different from what was anticipated.
Belichick must have repeatedly watched the games this season where the Kansas City Chiefs faced the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Titans.
These games are very typical; although the Chiefs won the last battle in all but the game against the Raiders, they are extremely valuable for analysis, as these teams all suppressed the Chiefs' offense, only to fall short in the final moments.
Analyzing these games is more meaningful than those where the Chiefs lost inexplicably.
In the end, Belichick specifically designed tactics, gaining the upper hand in the pre-game battle of wits with Reed—
To be precise, it should be a pass rush. Rushing is just one part of pass rushing.
After analyzing, Belichick precisely targeted the throat of the Kansas Chiefs Offense.
Although the Chiefs' Offensive line's stats this season are indeed impressive, the new heights of Smith's passing data come from the solid Pocket.
But that's just a superficial phenomenon.
A deeper analysis will show you that Smith's ratio of long passes is among the lowest for starting quarterbacks in the League, meaning Smith's impressive passing stats come from his quick release, with short passes making up the absolute majority, and the Offensive line's role not as significant as imagined.
At the same time, almost all of the Chiefs' gains over twenty yards come from Hill and Li Wei, relying more on individual ability to break through—
As a running back, Li Wei led the League with nine ground rushes over fifty yards this season, demonstrating exceptional performance.
So, where lies the crux? Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire
The short passing area.
Furthermore, it's the three seconds after the kick-off.
If during these three seconds, one fails to suppress the Chiefs' Offense, one might find themselves in trouble.
Belichick increased the Defensive group's proportion of pass rushes.
It's more than just blitzing.
Blitzing aims to take down the quarterback, which can only be done occasionally.
Pass rushing aims to build up pressure on the front line, increasing the overall density of the defense, and wreak havoc on passing and rushing; it's a comprehensive strategy.
Of course, the optimal outcome of a pass rush is to either take down the quarterback or stop the running back.
In fact, this season, the Patriots' proportion of pass rush has only been middling in the League; their Defensive group is not one of the teams known for their pass rushing.
But precisely because of this, Belichick's defensive strategy completely caught the Kansas City Chiefs off guard, and any bloated stats from the Offensive line were quickly squeezed out—
Before the second quarter was even over, the New England Patriots had taken down Smith six times.