Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 657 - 656 Withdraw completely intact

Chapter 657: 656 Withdraw completely intact

Trials, one after another.

Challenges, one match after another.

The pace of professional events never halted, not even when the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs had just together concluded a brilliantly thrilling peak showdown; the regular season’s progress would not slow down.

Fortunately, when scheduling the matches, the League took into consideration that this game was in Mexico City, including factors such as travel distance and time zone changes. In order to ensure that teams wouldn’t lose their regular season preparation rhythm due to the international match, they also prepared in advance—

A bye week.

The Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs won a brief respite during the last week of November.

...

Accidentally, the two teams that had just completed the most exciting, thrilling, and beautiful match of the season could use the following week to make adjustments.

This was good news.

However, this was only a temporary respite. After a short week of adjustment, the battle would reignite, and the challenges would still be there.

The Kansas City Chiefs were about to travel to an away game to challenge their divisional arch-rivals, the Oakland Raiders.

No one would forget that last season, the Oakland Raiders had unexpectedly defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, ending the latter’s season-starting six-game winning streak, and subsequently led to a series of six consecutive losses; however, the Kansas City Chiefs turned things around by defeating the Oakland Raiders to end their losing streak and get back on track.

Divisional arch-rivals, indeed fitting of the title, every clash was filled with highlights.

This season, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders were on completely different trajectories. The Kansas City Chiefs led the American League with nine wins and two losses, still occupying the top seed spot; the Oakland Raiders, however, were caught in a desperate vortex of two wins and nine losses, becoming strong contenders for the top draft pick.

One paradise, one hell.

And there was a very important matter—

Earlier this year, the League held the team owners’ conference, officially voted, and passed the proposal for the Oakland Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas; the team would officially complete the relocation in the 2020 season.

This meant that the football team that had been in Oakland since 1995 was about to leave.

That wasn’t all.

Oakland’s NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, had also announced a new arena plan, soon to move across the bridge to San Francisco and kick off their journey in a new home.

First the basketball team and then the football team. The city of Oakland was gradually losing its teams, ultimately due to the economic crisis, unimpressive market conditions, and the city government’s inability to allocate funds for new arenas, eventually leading to teams leaving.

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The Professional League was ultimately a commercial league, everything was focused on profits.

However, for the residents of the city, it was a devastating blow, as the teams they were deeply tied to were leaving, akin to half of their everyday lives collapsing dramatically.

The residents of Oakland had protested and appealed, but ultimately, they couldn’t change the desires of those big bosses.

Whether the Golden State Warriors or the Oakland Raiders, their days in this city were counting down.

This is why, this year, every home game could feel the “heroic and solemn in the face of adversity,” the atmosphere entirely different.

In front of them, the Oakland Raiders were about to face their die-hard divisional rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs, again. Maybe the grievances between Oakland and Kansas City would end here, and the future generations might gradually forget the disputes they had with the other city.

It’s poignant.

From past to future, and looking at the present, the destinies of the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs were starkly different. Each subsequent meeting between the two teams became exceptionally precious, becoming the last bright patch in the city’s memory.

So.

The Oakland Raiders exploded.

Despite a poor season record, despite internal disarray in the team, and despite a precarious unease that seemed to see no tomorrow, their spirit was completely transformed in front of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The offensive group of the Oakland Raiders went full throttle, buoyed by the deafening support from the home crowd. They put forth a vigorous and impressive performance, engaging in a fierce battle with their division rivals, the Chiefs, which was a sight to behold.

Surprisingly, the game was deadlocked at halftime.

Before the game, the players of the Oakland Raiders expressed their lofty ambitions. They were not afraid of the Kansas City Chiefs, nor did they care that the season’s outcome had essentially been decided early. They were fully prepared to overthrow the reigning champions—

Not for any reason other than it was the Kansas City Chiefs. That was enough.

The Oakland Raiders, true to their word, put on a spectacular display that could be felt as a burning life force, immersing the entire home audience in a state of ecstasy as waves of support continued to flow unceasingly.

However, in the second half, the spotlight turned to Li Wei’s show.

Just in the third quarter alone, Li Wei single-handedly advanced 101 yards on the ground and caught 32 yards, scoring two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, utterly demolishing the defensive group of the Oakland Raiders.

Li Wei, who had underperformed in his last match, had swiftly recuperated during the bye week and returned to form with a dominant performance that controlled the game.

The Oakland Raiders fell apart.

Despite quarterback Derek Carr’s attempts to keep a firm grip on the game, after throwing two interceptions, even Carr was plunged into despair.

Heroic, devastating, sorrowful.

The Oakland Raiders ultimately could not replicate last season’s miracle.

“49:33”.

The Kansas City Chiefs left the field intact, carrying away an important victory from the away game.

The score suggested a clean victory for the Kansas City Chiefs; however, the game had been exceedingly close, only widening the gap in the latter half of the third quarter. Indeed, the Oakland Raiders had truly put the reigning champions to a severe test.

But the Kansas City Chiefs ultimately stood firm. This season, for the second time after a fierce battle and a loss, they swiftly adjusted and got back on track, avoiding a losing streak, while gradually showing the mature side of a strong team.

At the same time, this victory also afforded the Kansas City Chiefs some breathing room—

The New England Patriots were doggedly pursuing them, keeping alive the suspense over who would hold the top seed in the American League.

Now, as the Kansas City Chiefs returned to the win column by defeating the Oakland Raiders, and the New England Patriots unexpectedly lost to the Tennessee Titans led by Derrick Henry, facing their third defeat of the season and momentarily slowing their chase, the number one and two seeds in the American League remained unchanged.

However, with four weeks still left in the regular season, there remained countless possibilities.

For the Kansas City Chiefs, home-field advantage in the playoffs was particularly crucial since the team had maintained an unbeaten record at home this season, with their only losses occurring away. Home-field advantage would play an even more critical role in the playoffs.

The Kansas City Chiefs needed to maintain their edge, and the New England Patriots were not about to give up the chase.

Then, in week fourteen of the regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs would face the toughest challenge at home this season. Whether they could maintain their unbeaten home record would depend on this:

The traditional powerhouse of the American League, the Baltimore Ravens.