Dominate the Super Bowl

Humphrey was furious.

He'd noticed Fournette right away and tried to shake off the wide receiver covering him, moving up quickly to reinforce the defense. The opponent clung to him like glue, even verging on holding—a penalty. This irritation sounded an alarm for Humphrey, but also made him quickly calm down.

Mustn't commit a foul. Keep cool.

With a sudden stop, Humphrey forced his opponent to overshoot due to inertia, allowing their positions to diverge. He immediately took off again, eyes locked on Fournette, and he could tell in an instant that Fournette was in a state of transcendent excitement, unstoppable.

As a cornerback, Humphrey's main task was to cover wide receivers, and occasionally, running backs.

Humphrey could see at a glance that Fournette, in such a state, couldn't likely be stopped by just one or two players—they needed to cooperate.

What else?

Since the second line of defense was weak, the Crimson Tide Storm probably couldn't mobilize enough players, so was there no way to stop Fournette?

No.

There was a way, one way.

Humphrey remembered the trick Derrick Henry had told them about: facing a running back with blood in their eyes, an ordinary tackle simply wouldn't do. So instead of a frontal collision that would be giving away a free score, better to disrupt the running back's control of the football.

Running backs undergo specialized training to protect the ball, and maintaining possession under pressure is a critical measure of a running back's ability.

Running backs must constantly be under pressure and confrontation. If they can't protect the ball and fumble frequently, not only failing to advance but also losing possession, then no team would like such a running back.

As a team with a tradition of strong running backs, the Crimson Tide Storm was all too aware of this. Burns would organize drills during practice to disrupt ball possession, where players would hit the ball-carrying hand of the running back from above, below, and the side to train running backs to protect the football under various impacts.

So, if you can't stop the running back, stop the football.

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Even if they didn't cause a fumble, the running back would sound the alarm, momentarily distracted, and almost instinctively try to shield the ball. Their unstoppable running pose would slow down just a bit, or even show a gap, increasing the defensive player's chance of successfully intercepting the play.

And then—

Foster!

A light went on in Humphrey's eyes.

Indeed, the thoughts of a genius were the same—Foster, that kid, was on the same wavelength as him.

Humphrey immediately moved forward, ready to assist Foster with the tackle, but unexpectedly, just as he started moving, he saw a flash darting out.

Crimson brown!

A fumble—Foster had done more than intercept Fournette; he'd also caused a fumble!

The entire Tiger Stadium was frozen in an instant, a hundred thousand eyes focused on that flash of color, mouths agape, shock and fear invading their chests.

Take off, move up, intercept.

Humphrey's second reaction was extremely agile; like a whirling autumn wind sweeping leaves, he gathered the football into his embrace before it hit the ground, securing possession tightly, not slowing down, and instantly completing a 180-degree spin, sprinting without stopping.

Thump, thump, thump thump thump.

Push off, take off, sprint.

Although Humphrey was a defensive player and not familiar with offense, at that moment he was fully in the zone. He briefly scanned the chaos and took it all in.

Just now, the Crimson Tide Storm's all-in blitz tactic for a rush pass had left the short pass area exposed, subsequently creating space for Fournette's breakthrough.

But now, the Crimson Tide Storm's concentration of forces at the line of scrimmage turned to an advantage for Humphrey, clearing the way for him.

One step.

Allen had already taken position, blocking off the Tigers' strong and fierce offensive line; Humphrey's feet shot out without hesitation.

One, block!

Two, block!

The white figures of Crimson Tide Storm built a dam within the purple fog of the Tigers, and Humphrey could clearly see a pathway—

Towards the end of the world.

Running, sprinting, dashing all the way.

Humphrey felt as if he were back in his carefree childhood days, with no toys, no internet, no television, no game consoles, nothing at all—but life was still full of joy. All he needed to do was to dash with all his might, feeling the wind rush past his ears, and laughter would involuntarily fill his chest.

It was as though he could hear the call of Crimson Tide Storm circling high above Tiger Stadium for a long time, faint but resilient, "Run! Humphrey, run!"

Selflessly, with all his might, committedly, Humphrey pushed his speed to the limit, even clearly hearing his blood boiling in his body.

To the right, he could see a dagger thrust out.

It was Harris.

Perhaps, as a quarterback, he still had room to grow; but as a player for the Tiger Team, at this moment, he clenched his teeth and displayed his iron-willed fighting spirit.

Humphrey slammed on the brakes in an emergency stop, skirting past Harris's attempted tackle and dodging out of place, a clockwise spin sending the poor kid who didn't know defense, didn't know tackling, didn't know positioning sprawling behind him, the path ahead clearing once again.

Closer.

Even closer.

All the way, unhindered, Humphrey opened his arms and leaped into the end zone, putting a period on this counterattack.

The entire field fell utterly silent.

The same situation, a different state of mind.

The home crowd had anticipated the start of this offensive wave, but they had not foreseen the final result.

Foster's fumble meant the ball was a free for all, open for contention—if the Tigers managed to grab it, it would still be considered a successful conversion of possession.

However, Humphrey secured the ball, and before his knees hit the ground, he could continue carrying the ball on a counterattack, all the way until he was downed, reached the end zone, or fumbled himself—if he also lost the ball, the same rules would apply, the ball would be free for all again, and whoever seized the offensive rights would take it.

Luckily, Humphrey avoided a repeat of the chaos, and with a clean and decisive move, he scored a touchdown for Crimson Tide Storm's defensive group—

A fumble return for a touchdown.

Ah!

Ahhhh!

The players of Crimson Tide Storm were immersed in madness, raising their hands high one by one in the touchdown gesture, setting ablaze surging passions. Find exclusive stories on empire

Yet, Tiger Stadium was silent.

The bone-chilling cold of the home ground seemed never-ending, only the small flames of the away team players burning, weak but tenacious, solitary yet fierce.

The game was completely overturned within a mere five minutes.

Crimson Tide Storm completely turned the tide, first with the offensive group bearing the pressure to break through the impregnable defense, opening up the game with a siege-like offensive, breaking the deadlock between the teams.

Then came a forceful counterattack from the offensive group of the Tigers, but Crimson Tide Storm's defensive group displayed their dominant quality at the critical moment, not only stopping the opponents but also completing a possession turnover, finishing with a touchdown.

Without even time to catch their breath, the evenly matched game that had been deadlocked for three quarters was completely shifted.

Seeing their arch-rivals singing and dancing in their own end zone, the home crowd's hearts turned to ash, struck by the heavy blows and momentarily lost.

But Humphrey didn't care.

After finishing his celebration in the end zone, Humphrey turned around and found Fournette in the crowd, lifted the football to point at him, then jogged to the side of the field, shoving the football into Li Wei's arms, the first to lead the ruckus.

"Roar! Roar, roar, roar!"