Candlestick Park erupted, a tidal wave of sound! Thunderous! Majestic!
No one was an exception. Every fan was on their feet, roaring wildly, and cheering with their arms raised. The overwhelming shouts were like a tsunami, echoing and re-echoing inside the stadium, a continuous, powerful surge.
It was third and six with 38 seconds left. With the pocket collapsing and a sack imminent, Lu Ke used his own legs to get a first down, completing a run of a full 17 yards. This was the longest run of the ga for either team, and it wasn't made by a running back but by a quarterback—a traditional pocket quarterback.
The comntary booths exploded. Everyone—literally everyone—was exclaiming in disbelief, and even Charles Davis from ESPN was no exception.
This was not only because Lu Ke, a pocket quarterback, had made an unexpected choice, a surprising decision to use his feet to lead the team forward, but also because he successfully completed a 17-yard run, throwing the entire Dallas Cowboys defense into chaos and disarray!
The key point was that Lu Ke's running motion with the ball was incredibly clumsy, a far cry from his pocket-moving footwork.
The dodging and pushing during the run were awkward, his steps and posture making him look like a circus clown dancing. He obviously overused the high-knee motion, raising his legs too high, which uncoordinatedly affected his running speed.
But sohow, despite such a clumsy run, he was always able to dodge a tackle and continue moving forward at the last possible second. The Dallas Cowboys defenders could clearly feel that everything was so close, within reach, yet that sliver of distance, that single hair's breadth, felt like an eternity.
In the Fox Sports studio, Kirk once again said his classic line, "Unbelievable! Unbelievable! What did you say just happened? Unbelievable!" Kirk repeatedly exclaid. These simple words perfectly expressed the feelings of every comntator.
If they could, they would have cursed. But they couldn't. So, "unbelievable" was the best way to express it.
A hot, surging excitent rushed to his head. The adrenaline exploded like a hydrogen bomb. Lu Ke felt the blood in his body start to race again, and he could almost feel the heat on his skin.
His knees were slightly weak, his calves were a little tense, and his fingertips trembled slightly. Running with the ball was not Lu Ke's strength after all. He chose Bullet Ti, but he had to perform all the movents himself, which was more difficult than Absolute Step. But in the sa way, the results were greater. In five seconds, the team was now close to the end zone.
After a hearty roar, Lu Ke quickly cald down. He handed the football to the referee, called his teammates to the 27-yard line, looked up at the clock, and saw 29 seconds. The last drive had consud a full nine seconds, so there were only 29 seconds left in the ga.
Indeed, running with the ball consud too much ti. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, Lu Ke wouldn't choose to run. But this was no ti for regret. They were at the 27-yard line, which ant the intensity of the Cowboys' defense would double. The Cowboys' pass defense had been outstanding today, and there wasn't much room left for Lu Ke and his receivers.
After quickly devising a new play, Lu Ke chose to pass to Kyle Williams. It was a 6-yard short pass. Williams made the catch, but three Dallas Cowboys defenders provided tily coverage and made a fierce collision.
"Bang! Bang, bang!" The dull collision sound was so intense that you could even hear the crisp sound of helts clashing. The football was knocked out of Williams's arms and fell to the ground, resulting in a fumble.
The entire crowd gasped, and their hearts stopped for a mont.
Fortunately, Logan, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and imdiately dived for the fumble. Then, all the other players in the vicinity piled on top, like a human pyramid, with Logan at the bottom. Everyone was trying to get the fumble, and whoever got it would have possession.
If the Dallas Cowboys had gotten possession there, the ga would have been over.
The referees blew their whistles continuously, and it took almost a minute to separate the players one by one. Even the Cowboys and 49ers players were paying close attention to who had the ball. Finally, a disheveled Logan stood up, holding the football high, and the fans' cheers erupted like a tsunami.
The referee raised his hand to signal: San Francisco 49ers' possession!
The first down was an incomplete pass. The second down was at 10 yards with 17 seconds left. Due to the fumble, a lot of ti had been consud, and Lu Ke had less and less ti left.
"There are only 17 seconds left in the ga. The San Francisco 49ers still have two tiouts left, but the problem is, how should they attack? The Cowboys' defense hasn't made a single mistake today!"
"With 17 seconds and 27 yards to go, will the 49ers' quarterback go for a deep pass? Will the Cowboys' secondary make the sa mistake again?"
"The ga has entered its most difficult stage. The 49ers were almost about to lose the ga right here. Fortunately, Newman recovered the fumble, keeping their hopes alive. But even this small glimr of hope is not very promising."
"The suspense continues. With 17 seconds left, this ga has truly entered a do-or-die phase. The problem is not the Dallas Cowboys, but the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback. Can this freshman quarterback stay calm in such a tense and crucial mont? What about his passing accuracy?"
"I can't believe that the fate of the San Francisco 49ers is now in the hands of a rookie quarterback. The difficulty is too great, the risk is too high, and hope is fading. Now, everyone must ask the sa question: At this do-or-die mont, can this rookie's passing accuracy and play-calling stay calm?"
"Seventeen seconds. The most crucial 17 seconds are here!"
The comntary booth was filled with a continuous stream of voices. Every comntator was giving their opinion and analysis. The atmosphere was so tense it was suffocating.
But for Lu Ke, none of this mattered. His mind was clearer than ever before. Countless play options flashed through his mind again and again. He heard Jim Harbaugh's voice giving instructions through his headset. The noise of the world beca a background hum. He could even hear his own heart, which had stabilized again.
After that last run, his erratic heartbeat had returned to normal.
Lu Ke looked up at a panting Kyle Williams. "You okay?" The collision just now was truly violent and frightening.
But Williams shook his head, indicating he was fine, and then shrugged. "Sorry, I didn't hold onto the ball."
Lu Ke waved his hand, indicating it was nothing. It was a forced fumble. One player against three. Williams couldn't be blad. If anyone was to be blad, it was Lu Ke for his lack of defensive awareness, which was part of the reason. Besides, this was not the ti to dwell on mistakes. They had to focus and execute the last play!
After quickly setting up the play, Lu Ke clapped his hands. He didn't say much, just signaled for everyone to get into formation, as if this was just another normal, simple drive. Just now, Lu Ke had set up five different running routes. He would see which player could find an opening and pass the ball accordingly.
The five routes also included Marcus.
After two consecutive runs that broke the defensive line, and now at the 27-yard line, the Dallas Cowboys would surely have to allocate so of their forces to defend against the run, especially since Lu Ke also seed to have so running ability. This ant the pass defense would not be as solid as a rock. This was Lu Ke's chance.
The San Francisco 49ers got into formation, and Candlestick Park fell into a silence so profound you could almost hear the wind. Everyone was watching intently, holding their breath.
Lu Ke stood straight, carefully observing the opposing defensive formation. Then he slowly bent down, his eyes fixed on DeMarcus Ware and Sean Lee. His sharp and piercing gaze t theirs. The sound of the wind suddenly stopped, and it seed as if ti itself had stopped.
"Hut!"
Lu Ke announced the snap. As his hands felt the touch of the football, he quickly dropped back, adjusting his grip. The entire area in front of him scattered like flower petals. All the players spread out. Openings seed to be everywhere, yet there seed to be no gaps at all.
The running routes of the red jerseys were all in his sight. The Dallas Cowboys had chosen to defend the pass, returning to their familiar first-half strategy. There was no blitz. They only left three players to defend the run, and the rest were scattered to cover the narrow passing lanes.
Logan Newman seed to have found an opening, six yards in front to the right. Kyle Williams also seed to have found an opening, eight yards directly in front. Marcus Lynch was still at a relatively parallel position to the right, ready to catch a short horizontal pass.
But Lu Ke chose Michael Crabtree!
He glanced quickly, with no thought, no hesitation, no pause. He raised his right hand and gave what seed like a gentle toss. The football arced upward like a rainbow, shining brightly in the sun. It flew over the heads of the offensive and defensive lines, over the heads of the players in the short-pass area, and over the interdiate-pass area, accurately aiming for the lower-left corner of the end zone.
It was a 27-yard rainbow deep pass!
But the arc seed a little too high, far, far exceeding the height limit. And the curve of the ball's descent didn't seem too steep. Was it a passing mistake? Would it fly out of bounds?
Wait! No!
In his sight, Crabtree leaped high, stretching out his hands with all his might, trying to catch that football in mid-air!
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