The King of Bay Area

Read the defense, read the defense, read the defense.

After lining up again, Lu Ke methodically started to read the defense. It was still man-to-man coverage, with no changes, but Lu Ke didn't look happy. His eyes scanned the defenders, as if he was trying to figure out each one's next move. Each time a defender's eyes met his, Lu Ke would instinctively look to the upper left, as if to hide his play call, but also subtly giving away his target. Regardless of whether the opponent could read the information, it at least planted a seed of doubt.

With a series of quick eye movements, Lu Ke took a big step forward and changed the play. He then took three steps back, changing the pistol formation to a shotgun, making it look like he was going to throw deep. Marcus Lynch moved to the left, standing behind Ginn and Crabtree, forming a triangle. Despite this, the Giants' defensive formation didn't change. They even ignored Marcus's move and stuck to their man-to-man coverage. They were sticking with what had been working well for them in the second half.

Without hesitation, Lu Ke snapped the ball. The entire 49ers' offense started to shift to the left, like a floating island slowly drifting. First, the offensive line, in their confrontation, subtly shifted their feet to the left, causing the entire pocket to slowly tilt. Ginn, on the far left, sprinted forward, using his speed to the fullest. Crabtree, also on the far left, ran a short route, sprinting five yards forward before making a small diagonal cut to the outside left, ready to get out of bounds after the catch. Logan and Williams, on the right, both cut inside to the left. The only difference was the timing. Logan only ran forward three or four yards before making a left cut, running horizontally along where the defensive line was. Williams, on the other hand, used his speed advantage, sprinting seven or eight yards forward before making a 90-degree turn and cutting to the left.

The entire offense was now heavily tilted to the left, like a tornado, sweeping in the same direction and causing chaos. In an instant, all the Giants' defenders started to shift their weight, following the 49ers' offensive arrows and moving in the same direction. The field immediately became seriously lopsided, as if it was about to tip over.

As a result, the only exception became very noticeable: Marcus! Marcus was on the left, standing three yards behind Ginn and Crabtree. After the snap, Marcus didn't move. He stood still, slightly shifting to the left by one or two yards with the offensive line. He looked like an idle drifter, neither a lineman nor a receiver. A moment later, Marcus started to move. He sprinted forward, made a quick stop, turned, and then, at the five-yard mark, started to move horizontally to the right. He turned around, his back to the end zone and facing Lu Ke, and raised his right hand high, like a ring girl in a boxing match, trying to get everyone's attention.

Oh no! In the midst of the unified movement, Marcus looked like a rebellious outlier, going against the flow, and he instantly caught the attention of two defenders. They both slammed on the brakes, forcefully shifted their weight, and rushed toward Marcus.

At that moment, Lu Ke, who was in the shotgun formation, calmly adjusted his footwork, raised his right hand, and quickly started to swing his arm to the left. The hint before the play and the trend after the play finally came together. The entire Giants' defense no longer hesitated and collectively converged to their right side, trying to stop the pass.

But...

"A pass to the left! Wait, no, it's a fake! Lu Ke fooled the entire defense! He pulled his arm back, adjusted his footwork, and threw the ball again, to the... right! It's a pass to the right! The target is... not Marcus Lynch! It's a deep pass! My God, it's a rainbow deep pass!"

Troy was truly amazed. The 49ers' varied and unpredictable offense was at its peak, and it was impossible to defend against. The Giants' defense was completely being led by the nose. Lu Ke's rhythm was finally back, at least in terms of play calling and reading the defense. But what about his passing?

"The target is Logan Newman! Jesus Christ, when did Logan get to the right side?" Troy asked the same question that all the commentators were thinking. Out of sight, Logan had suddenly switched from the left to the right and was in the path of Lu Ke's pass. This caught the commentators by surprise and also the Giants. In terms of play calling, Lu Ke had truly found his intuition and feel again. But his passing accuracy was yet to be tested.

"Thirty yards, forty yards, midfield... a deep pass! Lu Ke's rainbow pass is flying over midfield with unstoppable force! It's past the 45-yard line and the 40-yard line! Logan Newman!"

"Logan Newman has a wide-open space, a huge open space! My God! The 49ers' tight end, number 88, Newman, has made the catch! Beautiful, it's truly beautiful! An accurate catch while moving backward, he lowered his center of gravity a little and made a steady catch!"

The crossing route in the middle of the field successfully created an open space, which became a perfect opportunity for a pass. After the snap, Logan didn't hesitate to sprint forward and turn left. He was very familiar with the short-pass routes. After cutting into the middle, he stopped his feet again, made a second 90-degree turn, and started to push forward. But this time it wasn't a straight arrow; he shifted slightly to the right, and with his running steps, he slowly got back into the right lane.

With two quick stops and two changes of direction, speed was not Logan's absolute advantage, but his power control as a tight end was impressive. After crossing the midfield line, Logan started to adjust his footwork, taking small steps while looking back, slowly aligning himself with Lu Ke's pass trajectory. When he got to the 40-yard line, he was in a no-man's-land, a vacuum of about three yards around him in the dense backfield. He had torn a huge hole in the defense. Without any pressure, Logan just adjusted his steps a little and then made the catch. Lu Ke's passing control wasn't 100% accurate yet. The arc was a little low, and the ball landed on his abdomen instead of his chest. But his rhythm and feel had clearly improved. Logan just had to lower his center of gravity and squat a little to make a safe catch.

After standing up again, Logan adjusted his footwork, made a 180-degree turn, and faced the end zone, ready to start running again. But then he saw three defenders closing in on him. The first defender to come over hit Logan's right shoulder, shaking his balance. Logan only had time to take one big step before he was trapped. He didn't try to force it, and he fell to the ground with the ball, successfully completing the drive.

"Facing a second-and-twenty situation, the 49ers' rookie quarterback once again showed his fearless side, with a 40-yard pass that not only got them a first down but also led the team to the opponent's 40-yard line! Brilliant! It was absolutely brilliant!"

"People are sighing that Eli Manning might be the best fourth-quarter comeback quarterback in the league. But people shouldn't forget that Lu Ke is definitely another quarterback who is good at tough battles. His big-play ability in crucial moments was the first impression he made on the entire league! It's all up in the air now. After the second half of the fourth quarter, the excitement of this tough matchup has finally blown up Candlestick Park!"

From the broadcast booth to the stands, everyone was buzzing because of this crucial deep pass. But on the field, Lu Ke was focused, as if he didn't hear any of the shouting. He just kept making hand signals, motioning for his teammates to come closer, gesturing the play, and telling them to pass it on quickly. Every second counted.

After Logan made the catch and fell to the ground, the game clock was at one minute and forty seconds and still ticking. The 49ers didn't call a timeout because they had already wasted one in the second half. Before one of the drives, they realized there was a miscommunication in the play call and were forced to call a timeout to reread the defense and call a new play. It was an accident, an accident that no one wanted to happen, but it did. If the game had been going smoothly, it would have just been a minor blip. But with the game in a tight spot, it was fatal. So, with two timeouts left, the 49ers were hesitant to make a move. They wouldn't use a timeout until it was absolutely necessary, otherwise, they would be in an even worse position later on.

After getting to the 40-yard line, lining up, and getting the play call, the game clock was at one minute and twenty seconds and still ticking, nineteen seconds, eighteen seconds... Without any hesitation, Lu Ke immediately snapped the ball. But after the snap, it seemed there was a breakdown in communication on the offensive line. The Giants' defensive line suddenly compressed, and the pressure wasn't too intense, but the pocket protection collapsed quickly, and the speed of the collapse was much faster than Lu Ke had expected.

Another accident happened.

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