Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 735 - : 734 Watt heartbroken

Chapter 735: 734 Watt heartbroken

The bustle surrounding the regular season fervently unfolded, and the battle raged on towards the playoffs—a crescendo of war drums.

January 5th, Saturday.

The first wild card game of the American League kicked off the postseason.

“The number three seed Houston Texans VS the number six seed Indianapolis Colts.”

It was an AFC South internal conflict, with division rivals seeing red—the fights for life and death during the regular season only intensified in the playoffs.

On one side stood the Houston Texans, with Watson’s rise and Watt’s return; the team had finally found their leaders on both offense and defense.

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On the other, the Indianapolis Colts, with Luck leaving injuries behind and Richie proving himself after taking over in the wake of the head coach storm.

In the regular season, the two divisional rivals battled fiercely, with the outcomes of both games decided by only a field goal. The Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts each snatched a victory on the other’s home turf, both teams utterly spent.

In this playoff encounter, both sides united in their determination to claim victory.

Before the game, professionals slightly favored the Texans for simple reasons: Watt’s reliable defensive group had always been trustworthy, and now, in his second year, quarterback Watson had finally turned in a solid performance. With offense and defense relatively balanced, they indeed showed great championship potential.

Experts said prior to the start of the playoffs, this could be Watt’s best chance—

the chance to ascend to the championship. It was a contentious and chaotic battle with a rare opportunity.

This season, a healthy Watt was still among the league’s elite, achieving 16 solo sacks, only behind Donald’s 20.5 sacks, ranking second in the league’s sack chart, undoubtedly dominating.

Watt humbly stated, “Focus on the present, taking it one step at a time. I yearn for victory and desire to bring more honor to the team. I’ll give my all on the field, let’s fight to the end together.”

Unlike Watt’s humility, Watson puffed out his chest with confidence, “I am ready. I’m prepared to challenge the league’s top players.”

“Luck. Brady. Li Wei. I don’t care because I know my ability. When I play at my best, we can defeat any opponent.”

Youth brims with confidence.

With Li Wei before him and Lamar Jackson after, Watson felt the pressure to prove himself and to deliver a true performance.

Now, the opportunity lay before him.

Watson was ready.

However…

Watson missed yet again, in a fatal way.

In the first wild card game, Watt’s leading defensive group remained tough, with two sacks, four effective hits, and one disrupted pass—keeping a tight grip on the game against Luck, one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

The problem, however, was with the offensive group, where Watson’s performance was disappointing.

Merely looking at the stats, Watson and Luck’s performances weren’t much different; the quarterbacks’ ratings were close, and stats like passing yards and completion rate were impressive, with no interceptions, fumbles, or mistakes.

So where was the problem? Why blame Watson?

The answer lies in the lack of toughness at crucial moments. Over the course of the game, the Texans failed to convert on third down thirteen times, only succeeding three times—a horrendously poor conversion rate that trapped the team in a dire situation; moreover, the offensive group risked and tried to convert on fourth down five times, succeeding only twice but failing thrice.

Watson was still too raw.

“21:7.”

The Indianapolis Colts took home a beautiful victory from the away game.

The League, filled with sighs.

The disappointment partly stemmed from the Houston Texans facing an upset and a major letdown; on the other hand, the game completely fell short of expectations.

For the casual observers, the appeal of the playoffs lies in the tension and thrill of single-elimination matches, combined with the lure of the Super Bowl just at the finish line, which often makes for more engaging and closely contested games. The double overtime divisional game between the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens in the 2012 season is still fondly talked about for this very reason.

And this, is all?

Disappointing.

On social media, torrents of ridicule were directed at the Houston Texans. “A’Dou who cannot be propped up,” the game from three years ago where they were shut out by the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoff wild card round was dug up again for scornful rehashing. Many trolls and haters took pleasure in the Texans’ misfortune, saying that the Texans might as well go home and sleep it off. Among these voices, some claimed to be calm and objective, but in reality, their commentary that Watt would never get his hands on the Super Bowl was vicious.

This, shouldn’t be.

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It’s natural to be disappointed in the game or the team, but no one should attack Watt.

Throughout the entire game, Watt gave it his all, fighting until the very last moment. Faced with the struggle of battling alone, even someone as strong as Watt was nearly exhausted, dehydrated, and cramping, yet he persisted, gritting his teeth to carve out opportunities for his team. His battle-scarred and bloodstained figure deserved everyone’s respect—

He doesn’t owe anyone anything.

However, Watt was ultimately unable to turn the tide.

After the game ended, despite Watt’s efforts to stay calm and composed in the face of media scrutiny and persistent questioning, the tough guy couldn’t help but have his eyes redden, barely holding back tears and mustering up courage.

“We’ll be back.”

Watt nodded continuously, took a deep breath, and repeated.

“We’ll be back.”

Behind those brief words, one could deeply feel Watt’s heartbreak.

Ending the press conference, Watt’s phone was already overwhelmed with countless messages and calls. The Good Old Man didn’t just throw his phone aside; instead, he collected his scattered emotions and diligently replied to each one. While he should have been the one receiving consolation, somehow, it turned into him comforting others.

Then, when he saw the message from Li Wei, Watt was stunned.

“This is a defeat, but it can’t beat you. This isn’t a failure. Buddy, we may be defeated, but we will not be knocked down.”

Direct, sharp.

While everyone else was consoling Watt, Li Wei was the only one who faced defeat squarely.

Defeat is defeat; there’s no denying it. Facing defeat is always bitter and difficult; but how you face it is key to becoming a true warrior, a true champion, and it’s also the most touching part of the competitive sports world.

That’s Li Wei’s attitude.

This brief passage of text caused Watt’s defenses to crumble.

Taking a deep breath, Watt recovered his strength and sent back a message.

“Keep-Pouding.”

Soon after, a reply came back.

“Last-Man-Standing.”

Ha ha, Watt found his smile again. Though still bitter and pained, at least now he could laugh out loud.

As the Indianapolis Colts, the sixth seed, emerged victorious, it meant that regardless of the outcome of the other wild card game, the first matchup in the divisional round was set; they would head south to Arrowhead Stadium to challenge the Kansas Stadium, the top seed.

Another good show.

Watt thought, now it’s all on that rookie.