Chapter 787: Burning Fire
“Get out of the way!”
“Cheater! You stole our victory!”
“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you!”
In one instance, Kansas City was preparing for the upcoming league finals.
In another, the National Conference finals in New Orleans had just concluded. Chaos erupted at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with curses and insults raining down.
Above the field, however, was a different scene.
Aaron Donald clenched his fists, raised his head to the sky, and let out a primal roar. His baby face was fierce and murderous, bursting with lethal rage, spreading bloodlust without reservation.
Not far away, Drew Brees stood hands on hips, dejectedly hanging his head, his face hidden inside the helmet, unrecognizable, yet conveying deep frustration and anger—
So close, just a tiny bit close.
This could have been the New Orleans Saints’ best chance to clinch the championship in the Super Bowl since their peak in the 2009 season, after a whole decade.
Yet, they still missed it.
The American Conference finals were set to start before the National Conference finals.
The New Orleans Saints were hosting the Los Angeles Rams, and while people expected a high-scoring game, surprisingly, the defensive group took center stage.
Whether it was Goff or Brees, both were restricted in their passing performances. Even Brees, who had the highest career pass completion rate among active players, fared poorly. Not only did his pass completion rate drop below 50%, but he also threw two interceptions, and the expected shootout did not take place.
It was not until the official game clock paused in the fourth quarter that the struggle remained unresolved, with the Saints leading by just one field goal; then the Los Angeles Rams clawed back from the brink with a forty-three-yard field goal, tying the score and forcibly dragging this NFC Championship into overtime.
The deadlock persisted in overtime.
The New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams both had opportunities, but they squandered them, and each team ended up punting on their two offensive possessions.
With no team scoring and the deadlock continuing, it meant whoever could score first, be it a field goal, touchdown, or safety, would take the victory.
The Los Angeles Rams seized the opportunity.
Rather than attributing the achievement to Goff’s offensive group, it was the special duty group’s kicker, Greg Zuerlein, who descended from the sky like a superhero on a Rainbow Cloud and saved the Los Angeles Rams:
After tying the score with a forty-three-yard field goal in the final moments of regulation time, Zuerlein kicked a fifty-seven-yard field goal with just two minutes left in the first half of overtime, astonishingly ending the game.
Final score, “26:23”.
Fierce, tenacious, agonizing, grueling.
The National Conference finals ended in a tragic and brutal manner.
This year, Brees was thirty-nine years old; he did not know how many years he could continue to play, nor if such an opportunity would arise again.
The unfulfilled ambitions of the veteran made the usually calm Brees stand in place for a long time, unable to recover, needing more time than in previous years to swallow the bitterness of this defeat.
In stark contrast, the vibrant Los Angeles Rams cheered and celebrated exuberantly. If there could be anything more joyful than advancing to the Super Bowl, it would be advancing on the shoulders of a defeated rival in an away game, a joy that could double their happiness.
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome was not pleased—
The victory should have been theirs, the despicable Los Angeles Rams stole their victory.
The events unfolded , occurring with one minute and forty-five seconds left in regular game time.
Before Los Angeles Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein became a superhero, pulling the game out of the fire, the New Orleans Saints’ offensive group tightly held the initiative.
At that time, the score was “20 to 20.”
Brees once again showcased his elite quarterback prowess, with a series of smooth passing attacks reverting to peak form, achieving a one hundred percent pass completion rate, and leading the New Orleans Saints past midfield in less than two minutes.
Then, facing a third and ten, Brees calmly made a precise pass, finding his wide receiver Tommylee Lewis. However, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Lewis before the ball arrived, knocking him down and resulting in an incomplete pass.
According to league rules, hitting a player without the ball is illegal pass interference, a penalty of ten yards.
That means Robey-Coleman’s illegal hit on Lewis directly awarded the New Orleans Saints a first down, allowing the offensive group to enter the Los Angeles Rams’ red zone. Next, the New Orleans Saints would have three attempts to reach the end zone.
If they had scored, the score would have been “27 to 20,” and the New Orleans Saints could have seized control of their fate.
However, there is no “if” because no penalty was called, so the New Orleans Saints struck out, and what could have been a touchdown became just a field goal, altering the score to “23 to 20.”
Afterward, Zuerlein kicked a field goal to tie the score.
The precondition was a penalty call.
But the referees turned a blind eye, literally blind, making no call at all. Thus, Robey-Coleman successfully defended, and Brees’ pass was incomplete.
Then overtime ensued.
Then the Los Angeles Rams pulled off the kill.
That moment shocked the entire league because Robey-Coleman’s foul was overt, with absolutely no room for controversy—it was a clear foul.
In fact, the league also realized it. Right after the game ended, the league office immediately issued a statement admitting it was a wrong call.
But that was all, the league merely admitted the misjudgment, without any additional remarks, bearing in mind that it was a misjudgment that altered the outcome and history of the game.
Only two weeks after the season ended did the league belatedly issue an apology letter, expressing regret for the erroneous call in the final moments of the National Conference finals.
An apology letter could not change any facts, nor could it salvage Brees’ career.
Many indications suggest that the league was manipulating the outcome, as they needed a new icon, they needed to build Donald’s image; thus, Brees and his New Orleans Saints became the sacrificial lambs, as an obvious foul was overlooked—it was that simple.
Although there was no evidence, this is what the fans of the New Orleans Saints believed.
In fact, not only the Saints’ fans, but many neutral fans also expressed the same view—nobody likes an immoral victory.
No wonder after the game ended, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome went completely wild, nearly rioting—
“You stole our victory!”
“Shame, your so-called victory is a disgrace! You should be ashamed of yourselves!”
The fans of the New Orleans Saints were furiously outraged, and their historical enmity with the Los Angeles Rams only made the bitterness and anger of this moment surge even more, seeing the Los Angeles Rams celebrating their victory in their own backyard—the fans’ rationality completely collapsed.
Cursing and abuse quickly escalated into violence.
A storm of water bottles, umbrellas, shoes, and cell phones flew down onto the field; the Los Angeles Rams players could not celebrate any longer and, under the protection of security personnel, covered their heads as they left the field and hurried onto the team bus to leave the scene without even catching their breath.
If they had lingered on the field, nobody knew what would have happened next.