Chapter 1384: Chapter 1383: Quicksand Resistance
How to deal with the Houston Texans’ offense, where is the key?
Pressure.
Of course, this statement is too general, because pressure could be the keyword for any quarterback in the league. In this new era where passing rules supreme, the defensive group must make the quarterback feel pressure. How to apply pressure, how to launch surprise attacks, and how to limit the quarterback has become the biggest challenge for the offensive group.
The most direct and significant point is that as the value of quarterbacks skyrockets, the value of the defensive line and cornerbacks has also been rising.
But when facing Watson, this statement is even more targeted.
Because under pressure, Watson often makes mistakes, and it has nothing to do with physical fitness or talent, but rather with on-the-spot reactions, with reading defenses in crisis situations, understanding the situation, and choosing tactics. Everything is done in the blink of an eye, more of an instinctive reflex.
However, this instinct, a killer trait, a champion temperament, a great potential, is the key to becoming a unique superstar.
As it stands, Watson has not shown this "quality". If the defensive group gives Watson enough pressure, his brain will betray him first.
So, how to keep Watson under pressure for a long time, this is an art.
Chris Jones took a deep breath: he had an idea.
The Houston Texans’ offense and the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense took the field again. This was still the first half of the first quarter. The tense back-and-forth struggle had not been relieved; both sides were giving it their all, either the East Wind overpowering the West Wind or vice versa.
In the previous offensive and defensive standoff, the Kansas Chiefs Offense broke the deadlock with rhythm and versatility, completing a touchdown with a formidable posture, exponentially increasing the pressure on the Houston Texans. Arrowhead Stadium cooperated perfectly, with a torrent of shouting pouring down on the opponent.
However, O’Brien came prepared.
He knew that the Kansas City Chiefs possess this ability. Just look at the second quarter of the previous divisional game; the Tennessee Titans were directly overwhelmed. The Kansas City Chiefs’ explosive power is undoubtedly among the best in the league, so this surge is not enough to completely disrupt their pace.
Everything progresses step by step.
O’Brien and his coaching staff once again demonstrated the thoroughness and detail of their pre-game preparations, and the Watson-led Houston Texans’ offense continued to advance steadily.
However, advancing is one thing, but both O’Brien and Watson clearly sensed that with each advance, they were facing more and more resistance. It’s not just about the first attack becoming more difficult; every time a tactical layout and execution faced numerous obstacles, making the situation complex.
Yes, resistance, not obstacles.
The Kansas City Chiefs Defense did not rush or act hastily to disrupt Watson and the Texans’ state. They calmed down, slowed their pace, and gradually built up a process where resistance continued to accumulate and rise slowly and gradually, causing the Texans’ offense to fall into quicksand.
So, how exactly did the Kansas City Chiefs do it?
Reed learned from the previous Tennessee Titans’ defensive strategy and made adjustments based on the Kansas City Chiefs’ own characteristics.
In the front, maintain pressure, ensure the defensive line continues to collide with the offensive line, causing chaos, but the focus is not on surprise attacks. Applying pressure with a "hitting the bull through the mountain" posture is part of the purpose but not all; disturbing the passing vision is the key.
In simple terms, the defensive line and linemen often use a basketball-style inside defense, standing up straight and raising their hands high, presenting a windshield-wiping posture to disrupt Watson’s defensive reading vision.
Originally, Watson’s passing vision is not outstanding, especially the secondary defensive read; in pressure or chaos, on-the-spot interpretation of formation layouts often results in blind spots. Now, the defensive line further increases Watson’s difficulty in reading defenses.
In the back, man-to-man marking, full-body press defense.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ secondary defense is not the league’s best; their individual combat ability is not prominent. So, they don’t hope to flawlessly complete the defense each time. In one-on-one situations, they might even fall into a disadvantage, but it doesn’t matter; the key is to increase the difficulty of catching passes, which also means increasing Watson’s passing difficulty.
Through such pressure, Watson is kept in a tightrope-walking state at all times.
Of course, the Kansas City Chiefs Defense’s strategy isn’t perfect—
Firstly, Watson can still complete passes. Despite the fierce edge of the knife, his own passing ability, along with the abilities of Hopkins and other receiving options, and the standing posts of two tight ends ensure that the Texans can still complete passes.
Secondly, while the Texans face immense pressure in the passing game, relatively speaking, the pressure on the rushing side is significantly reduced, giving their running back space, combined with Watson’s own ball-running ability, they can still make advances.
But quicksand’s focus is on not instant devouring but silent eroding of mobility.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ targeted defense forces Watson to face interference every time he attacks; be it passing or rushing, there are no exceptions. Thousands of mosquitoes are endlessly flying by his ears, the buzzing sound truly tests patience, nearly intolerable.
Because of this, the Houston Texans’ offense continues to advance, but the difficulty of advancing is gradually increasing. The moment to test Watson’s patience and composure has arrived.
Chris Jones knows they are on the right track, suffocating Watson bit by bit, and Watson has not yet realized it.
With Watson’s personality, he certainly tends to show his toughness through direct breakthroughs, attempting to break the situation in this way; but this way, he falls into the trap.
"Attack!"
Second gear six yards, capturing Watson’s snap command, Jones stepped up without hesitation, completing his hundred and first defensive action.
This time was a bit different.
Jones made a feint, didn’t directly collide with the offensive line but instead took a step outward, lightly bypassing the line confrontation, directly entering the pocket.
Assault!
The key is in the suddenness; the Houston Texans completely did not expect that in this offensive and defensive standoff where the opponent maintained a stalemate, their opponent suddenly exerted force and Jones entered the pocket.
Not just Jones, but the other side’s defensive end Frank Clark also entered the pocket, with the target of the offensive line confrontation evolving into the linemen.
This was a premeditated assault!
Watson momentarily didn’t see the blindside Clark, but immediately spotted Jones on the right-hand side, and the pressure built up layer by layer instantly gripped his heart in this assault.
But Watson remained calm, hurriedly scanning the field amid consecutive backward steps—
Planted feet, twisted body, swung arms, pushed forward.
At the critical moment, Watson gritted his teeth and flung the football forward with the flick of his forearm, and it flew quickly.
However!
An unexpected event occurred on the parabolic path of the football’s upward trajectory: a pair of hands appeared.
That, startlingly, was Chris Jones!