Chapter 1458: Chapter 1457: Barefoot onto the Field
In the pinnacle showdown on the sports field, it’s often the details that determine the victor.
Because truly elite teams have comparable overall strength, with each having its advantages and disadvantages, simply analyzing from a technical or tactical standpoint cannot determine the outcome. In actual matches, it’s often the performance and tactical details in critical moments that play the role of the goddess of victory.
Tonight, it’s the same.
In the intense face-off where neither side cedes an inch, both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers perform at an elite level, but merely due to detail deviations, the San Francisco 49ers have now fallen into a "0:14" predicament, with three consecutive crucial matchups involving detail errors leading to one-sided situations.
Pressure, like a tidal wave.
It feels as if — they clearly did everything right and were on the right track but stumbled slightly as they reached the finish line, watching helplessly as opponents widen the gap; so what should they do? How should they adjust? How can they improve?
Self-blame, timidity, retreat, helplessness.
Various emotions tightly grip the heart.
Kyle Shanahan promptly sensed the "smell," a mix of confusion and panic, a familiar scent that instantly awakened the despairing memories from the fifty-first Super Bowl night three years ago:
The Atlanta Falcons against the New England Patriots in the second half.
At that time, everything was correct, everything was on the right track; yet they just couldn’t score, and neither Shanahan nor anyone else knew what happened or how to deal with it. Despite performing excellently in the first half, they failed to score after the opening touchdown in the second half.
Everything, like a nightmare.
Now, Shanahan smells that odor again, an indescribable, unexplainable, yet very real strange scent.
No way!
Shanahan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Experiencing a crisis and not experiencing a crisis are ultimately different, at least now having experienced one keeps Shanahan clear-headed, and he can control the situation before repeating the same mistake; when the crisis arises again, Shanahan anticipates it and responds ahead of time.
No time for panic and lament, because Shanahan knows that Reed won’t miss the opportunity; he must be tough and respond quickly.
Mike Shanahan, a great NFL coach, a Hall of Fame legend, is a figure who holds a place even throughout history.
So, when Kyle Shanahan stepped into the football world, whether he liked it or not, the label of being a ’second generation’ was firmly placed on him; no matter whether he obtained the job by his ability, gossip still assumes he benefitted from his father’s reputation.
From the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Washington Redskins, then to the Atlanta Falcons, and finally to the San Francisco 49ers, these years Kyle Shanahan has been proving himself, trying to make his own voice heard.
And he finally did it this year!
With the modern external zone offensive system before, and the San Francisco 49ers advancing to the Super Bowl following, Kyle Shanahan has finally carved out a niche in the league. When people mention him, he is "Kyle," no longer "Little Shanahan," finally possessing his own name, not just relying on the Shanahan surname in his background.
He refuses to concede, refuse to fear, and refuse to be weak.
He will prove with actual action that he is Kyle Shanahan, not just Mike Shanahan’s son!
Invisibly, Shanahan straightened his back and began to deploy troops —
From the situation, tonight is different from the fifty-first Super Bowl.
Three years ago, the Atlanta Falcons were the leading side and leading by a substantial margin; they believed their fingers could touch the championship trophy. So when the New England Patriots counterattacked, they didn’t sense the crisis immediately, as they had a large lead.
But right now, the San Francisco 49ers are the trailing side, yet the point gap isn’t large. At this moment, the crisis is just budding, and Shanahan caught onto the mindset shift immediately; adjustments are not too late, and before the game spirals out of control, they still have a chance to seize the reins.
Is there a difficulty?
No doubt, but Shanahan is confident, because the stability of the San Francisco 49ers is precisely their strong suit, whether in offense or defense.
With nothing to lose, the San Francisco 49ers are fearless, right?
Then, Shanahan adjusted, marking the third tactical adjustment of the first half.
Returning to ground offense?
Correct, but not entirely correct.
From regular season to playoffs, the San Francisco 49ers have repeatedly proven they possess excellent ground offense, the "Running Back Committee" is renowned in the league, Shanahan fully adopts Li Wei’s rise and Kansas City Chiefs’ tactical strategies, while showcasing different features based on his team.
Therefore, not fully leveraging their advantage is unreasonable.
But Shanahan knows the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive group has improved this season; just watch their excellent defense against Derrick Henry in the division match; this means the San Francisco 49ers need to rely on ground offense but can’t depend entirely on it like in the National Conference Finals.
Don’t forget, Shanahan is the creator of the modern external zone offensive system.
The core of this offensive system is to rely on ground offense to establish a foundation, then return to passing offense, tearing apart defenses with a balance between running and passing.
In short, they need to depend on ground offense while maintaining the threat of passing offense, which is the secret to breaking Kansas City Chiefs’ defense.
As the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive group entered the field again, Shanahan’s presence became apparent, allowing people to witness his capability.
The modern external zone offensive system, finally exerted its full power —
Quarterback Garoppolo frequently teamed up with his running backs to voluntarily leave the pocket, relying on tight end Kittel or running back Yushchek to win space by dismantling the defense, exploiting the 0.01-second hesitation of the defensive group deciding whether it’s a pass or run, expanding the advantage, and completing pushes.
When the defensive group believed it was a run, Garoppolo completed connections through fast short passes, releasing the ball before the rushing pressure from defensive players got to him, executing pushes without facing collision pressure.
When the defensive group believed it was a pass, Garoppolo handed the football to the running back, who seeks breakthroughs in a mere three to five-yard space.
Occasionally, the defensive group accurately predicted the running attack, but the San Francisco 49ers’ "Running Back Committee" displayed their collective strength, rotating with three players for a round of assaults, inch by inch overcoming the Kansas City Chiefs defense, along with wide receivers and tight ends occasionally filling in as running backs:
Hard to defend against.
The focus lies here, this is a power play.
Despite the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff studying the San Francisco 49ers’ match tapes seriously and formulating corresponding tactics; but the running back committee’s team advantage continues to be solid and steadily breaking through, while Shanahan’s carefully arranged short-pass connections also leverage Garoppolo’s passing strength.
Finally, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense became smooth.