The air was almost frozen in place, time dragging through quicksand at a crawl ten times slower. The pounding heartbeat echoed like thunder against eardrums.
Bart clenched his fists, using every ounce of strength to suppress the euphoria welling up inside him.
Third down, six yards to go. Seventeen seconds left.
Pittsburgh's win probability: 99.99%.
Everyone knew what was coming. The Kansas City Chiefs were gearing up for a Hail Mary attempt.
Bart knew it. Pasch knew it. The analysts and fans at Arrowhead knew it. Everyone knew it. There was no more mystery left in the strategy.
Naturally, Tomlin's defensive setup became simple:
Spread out, protect the deep field.
Pittsburgh left three defensive linemen and a linebacker up front to apply pressure. The rest of the players dropped back, spreading across the middle, deep, and end zones, fully focused on defending against a long bomb to the end zone.
The Steelers would allow short passes or runs to chew up a few yards. That was fine. All they needed to do was shut down any follow-up plays and prevent the Hail Mary.
And let's face it—Alex Smith didn't have the arm strength for a deep throw like that.
Which made Pittsburgh's defensive task even easier.
However, Reid saw the Steelers' overly cautious focus on the Hail Mary and decided to throw in a curveball:
A short pass to Kareem Hunt.
Yes, their second running back.
Reid played Hunt as a surprise weapon, having him catch a short pass near the sideline and step out of bounds to stop the clock. By exploiting Smith's strengths—quick throws and short passes—Reid hoped to build momentum and set up a game-winning field goal.
After all, the Chiefs were only down by two points. A field goal would seal the win.
It was a smart strategy.
But Pittsburgh's cornerback Hilton saw through it.
Patiently biding his time, Hilton tackled Hunt right at the sideline, preventing him from stepping out of bounds. The clock kept ticking.
Time was slipping away.
Bart grinned.
"Finally!"
After six long weeks of torment, sleepless nights, and bitter humiliation, he was about to have his moment of triumph.
Third down. Six yards to go. Seventeen seconds left.
The Chiefs had no choice but to try a Hail Mary.
But this time, the Steelers wouldn't make the same mistakes their previous opponents had. There would be no last-second miracle escape for Reid.
Everything was going according to plan—
Until Bart's eyes caught something on the screen.
Wait. What's that?
Bart blinked.
Lance and Hunt were both on the field at the same time.
A two-running-back formation?
Bart was confused.
Why would Reid call for a dual-running-back formation now? A short pass or a run wouldn't solve the Chiefs' problem.
What was Reid thinking?
Tomlin, too, hesitated. He couldn't make sense of the setup. His mind raced through potential scenarios, dismissing them one by one.
But there wasn't time to adjust the defense.
"Stay focused! Stay focused!"
Tomlin shouted from the sidelines.
"Snap!"
Smith took the snap.
The moment the ball was snapped, players from both teams sprang into action.
Bart leaned in, eyes glued to the screen.
Fake handoff?
Lance stepped forward, appearing to take a handoff from Smith.
Play-action fake?
Smith pulled the ball back. Lance kept moving past him, cutting diagonally to the right.
Bart scoffed.
Pointless.
Fake handoffs and misdirection wouldn't work here. The Steelers weren't falling for those tricks anymore.
But then—
Lance crossed the line of scrimmage.
Bart froze.
"What the…?"
On the field, Lance scanned the defense.
There. Hayward was out of position.
Initially, Hayward had planned to sack Smith.
Despite the Steelers dropping most players into coverage, Hayward wanted to make sure Smith didn't get a clean chance to launch a Hail Mary.
Defending a Hail Mary had two key components:
Pressure the quarterback.Cover the end zone.
Hayward focused on the first task.
But the Chiefs' misdirection threw him off.
Smith's fake handoff to Lance caused Hayward to hesitate.
And in football, hesitation could be fatal.
By the time Hayward realized his mistake, it was too late.
His feet wouldn't respond fast enough to chase Lance.
Instead, he tried to resume his pursuit of Smith—only to crash into a wall of blockers.
Hayward cursed under his breath. He'd lost both targets.
Meanwhile, Lance was running free.
For the first time all game, Lance had open space.
No tackles. No pressure.
Full speed ahead.
Lance took off.
In a flash, his mind mapped out the field, quickly analyzing the positions of defenders.
Then—
Watt noticed it.
The rookie linebacker spotted Lance.
No ball. No blockers.
Which meant only one thing:
Lance was a passing target.
Bart gasped.
"Oh no."
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Powerstones?
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