Chapter 305 - 193: If You Can’t Beat ’Em, Join ’Em
As the medical cart drove onto the field to carry the pale-faced star linebacker away on a stretcher, the Dallas Cowboys’ once near-certain playoff odds were suddenly thrown into chaos.
Five minutes later, the game resumed.
Facing a Cowboys defense that had lost its core player and suffered a major blow to morale, Li Wei completely took over the game.
The Giants had the ball again. This time, Li Wei tucked it firmly under his arm and opted for a quarterback run!
The first safety who tried to stop him was violently shoved and sent sprawling to the ground.
The next cornerback dove for his legs, but Li Wei simply dragged him for five yards before the defender helplessly lost his grip.
The final defender saw Li Wei approaching like an unstoppable force of nature and subconsciously remembered the star linebacker who had just been stretchered off. He instinctively flinched before the impact, and Li Wei easily juked him to the ground.
A 60-yard rush! He ran through them like they weren’t even there!
Li Wei effortlessly crossed into the end zone for a touchdown!
The referee raised both arms, signaling the touchdown. AT&T Stadium remained deathly silent.
The broadcast camera panned across the stands. In the standing-room-only section of the upper deck, a fan with his face painted blue and silver was covering his face with both hands. Tears mixed with the paint, streaming into his mouth as he let out suppressed sobs.
Down at the VIP tunnel entrance on the lower level, a sparse crowd had already begun to trickle out.
Joe Buck watched the on-screen feed, his tone tinged with a hint of pity.
"This is just unbelievable... We’re not even at the end of the first quarter, but Dallas fans who spent tens of thousands of USD on tickets are already starting to leave."
Joe Buck turned to Michael Owen in the booth. The former Dallas Cowboys legend’s eyes were unfocused, and he looked like a deflated football, unable to even muster a comment on the fans leaving early.
On the field, after his 60-yard rushing touchdown, Li Wei didn’t break into an extravagant celebration like other players. Instead, he beckoned to an assistant coach on the sideline and was handed a clean white towel.
As over a hundred thousand pairs of eyes watched, Li Wei wiped non-existent sweat from his face and walked to the center of the field, right to the famous blue star logo of the Dallas Cowboys.
Li Wei faced the chorus of boos, scanned the stands, and then dropped the towel right in the center of the blue star.
This was a blatant insult to the Dallas Cowboys.
After a brief, stunned silence, the stadium erupted with deafening, furious boos and the most venomous curses Texas slang could offer, threatening to tear the roof off.
Countless middle fingers shot up in the stands. If it weren’t for the high retaining nets and armed security, the angry rednecks in the crowd would have likely stormed the field for an all-out brawl with Li Wei.
But no matter how furious the Dallas Cowboys fans were, they couldn’t affect the game on the field in the slightest.
They were like helpless husbands, drugged and tied to a chair, forced to watch their beloved wives be defiled by the very man they despised most.
Having lost the core of their defense, and with Li Wei having just run 60 yards right through them, the Dallas Cowboys’ morale had hit rock bottom.
Li Wei was getting fired up too. Whether through short passes, long bombs, or quarterback runs, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense—now without its leader—was like paper in front of him, crumbling at the slightest touch.
As the referee’s whistle signaled the end of the half, the scoreboard froze, displaying a suffocating score:
42-3.
In just two quarters, the New York Giants had completely shattered the Dallas Cowboys’ spirit.
After the 15-minute halftime break, the third quarter was about to begin.
When the broadcast cameras cut back to the Giants’ bench, they found Li Wei sitting commandingly on the bench, with no sign of putting his helmet on.
In the commentary booth, an ecstatic Joe Buck yelled, "What’s he confirming with Head Coach Dabor? Oh, my god! The Giants are putting in their backup quarterback, Pansares! Li Wei isn’t going back in! He’s decided it’s garbage time, that he’s above playing any more!"
Sitting on the bench, Li Wei once again brought out the [Skull of the Garrulous Court Jester].
’Say something nice,’ Li Wei tried to command the jester’s skull.
The ruby in the eye socket of the [Skull of the Garrulous Court Jester] flickered faintly, completely ignoring Li Wei’s command.
It had no intention of flattering him. Instead, its hollow gaze locked onto the dejected Dallas Cowboys players sitting on the bench across the field.
[The legion of southern barbarians has lost its alpha wolf. Now they are nothing but a flock of featherless turkeys, trembling in the mud! Listen to the wails of the barbarians filling this arena. Have they lost even the courage to draw their swords again?]
Seeing that the skull was just going to keep trash-talking Dallas, Li Wei leaned back against his seat and coldly watched the garbage time of the second half unfold.
The final whistle blew as the clock in the fourth quarter hit zero. Although the Giants had only played their backups in the second half, Dallas’s spine had been broken. They couldn’t organize a decent counterattack. While they managed to close the gap on the scoreboard a little, it was nowhere near enough to overcome the insurmountable lead Li Wei had built. In the end, the Dallas Cowboys were brutally humiliated by the Giants in their own home stadium.