"Hut!"
The entire San Francisco 49ers offense erupted, especially the heavily stacked right side, which advanced with a powerful, thunderous momentum. After the snap, Logan, Marcus, and Crabtree moved like a rainbow bridge, starting from the left and curving to the right in a parallel arc. Logan was on the inside, Marcus in the middle, and Crabtree on the outside. The three of them looked like runners in the final turn of a 400-meter race, each about four to five yards apart, all sprinting at full speed. This wasn't the starting phase of a 400-meter race, but the final turn before a 100-meter sprint.
Logan didn't even look up to catch the ball. With his head down, he ran toward the linebacker on the second line of defense, then stopped and held his position, blocking the linebacker's defensive zone. Clearly, in this play, Logan's job was to block like a tight end, not to catch the ball. So, who was Logan blocking for?
A half-second later, Marcus Lynch's figure came rumbling forward like a bulldozer. There were no defenders on his route, and he immediately raised his right hand, signaling that he was open. This action made the New York Giants' middle defenders break out in a cold sweat. One player was at a ninety-degree angle to Marcus, and another was at the far end of his route. They both started to move, trying to double-team him, but something even more terrifying was about to happen.
Crabtree, with the speed of a lightning bolt, caught up and was slowly passing the now-slowing Marcus. He also raised his right hand. His momentum was unstoppable as he crossed the entire midfield, rushing toward the left sideline like a tornado sweeping across the field. So, who should they cover, Marcus or Crabtree?
What's more, there was still Logan Newman! In this matchup, Logan had a positional advantage over the linebacker. If the zone defense focused on Marcus and Crabtree, Logan could catch a short pass and use his physical advantage to gain ten or fifteen yards. At that moment, the 49ers gave the Giants no time to think. Lu Ke raised his right hand, ready to pass the ball. Instantly, two players converged on Marcus, and two more on Crabtree.
Wait, it was a pump fake! Lu Ke adjusted his footwork, turned his body to the right again, and made a second passing motion. In the rock-solid pocket, Lu Ke's passing motion and footwork were completely unaffected. He looked calm and relaxed in the middle of all the chaos. On the right, who was the target? It was... Williams! Damn Kyle Williams!
At this point, the Giants' backfield was in complete disarray. In the middle, three 49ers players had drawn in five Giants players. On the left and right, there was one defender each, and a safety was waiting at the front of the end zone to provide support. This meant there was only one player defending Williams. The safety at the front of the end zone immediately moved to the 49ers' right, ready to provide support if his teammate missed the tackle.
After the snap, Williams, head down, sprinted forward without any cuts or changes in direction. He ran along the sideline as if in a no-man's-land, accelerating and accelerating again. In a flash, he crossed midfield and entered the opponent's 30-yard line. He stopped, turned sideways, and raised his hands, signaling for the ball. The zone defenders started to rush toward him, and in his peripheral vision, he could see the safety in the distance anxiously adjusting his footwork and getting closer.
At that moment, Lu Ke swung his right arm, and Williams simultaneously signaled for the ball. Instantly, the entire backfield was on high alert. The defenders covering Crabtree and Marcus also shifted their weight toward Williams, trying to create an advantage in numbers. But... there was no football. There was no ball in the air. It was still a pump fake!
In his line of sight, Lu Ke took a third quick step, moving slightly to the left, facing the end zone. He raised his right hand for the third time without hesitation. He swung his arm in a full arc, pouring all his power into the throw. The ball shot out of his hand like a rocket, climbing higher and higher. But it wasn't a rainbow pass; it was a pass with a slightly upward-curving parabola that flew across the entire field, over the heads of all the players, and toward the deep part of the end zone.
Who was the target?
"Change of play! Before the snap, Lu Ke changed the play a second time. This rookie quarterback is incredibly bold, changing the play twice in such a tense situation. Is it a smoke screen, or did he really find a weakness in the opponent's defensive formation? The ball is snapped! Lu Ke has officially snapped the ball!" Troy Polamalu's eyes were glued to the field, but the action was so dizzying and confusing, like a kaleidoscope, that he could only stare at the quarterback.
"The pocket is fine! The pocket is completely fine! The Giants have also given up on their blitzing strategy, and with the five offensive linemen blocking, the defense has no chance. Lu Ke has enough time to observe the field. He's calmly moving sideways to the right, looking for a receiver."
"He's throwing! To the middle! No, that's a fake! He's throwing again! To the right side! No, that's still a fake. Wait, he's throwing, this time for real! Still to the middle!"
Everything happened in a flash. Even Troy, with his lightning-fast speaking speed, couldn't keep up and could only describe Lu Ke's actions in the simplest terms.
"The target is... past midfield, forty yards, thirty yards, twenty yards... The target is Ted Ginn Jr.! My God, when did Ginn get there? There's only one defender near him!"
"Safety Derrick Martin, number 22, is trying to catch up, but he has lost his balance, he's too late! It's a one-on-one showdown between Ginn and cornerback Will Blackmon!"
"Blackmon jumps high, he's behind Ginn, trying to get in front of him to make an interception. Ginn is accelerating, he's sprinting. He's a split second behind Blackmon as they both jump high into the air. The height they reach is amazing, it looks more like a basketball game than a football game. Right now, Blackmon has the high ground; he has the advantage!"
"But... Ginn! Ginn holds his position. Ginn has made the most accurate read of Lu Ke's pass. Blackmon has overshot the position, he's about half a yard off! Ginn straightens his arms and gets into a catching position! He catches the ball just before Blackmon's fingertips can touch it!"
"Ginn catches the ball! Ginn completes the catch! He did it! In an extreme one-on-one situation, Ginn successfully completed the catch, and both of them fell to the ground in the end zone. Did he control it? Did Ginn control the ball? Is it a successful catch? Yes! It is! The referee is signaling a touchdown! It's a touchdown!"
"God! Oh, my God! It's a touchdown! Touch... down..."
Troy started to roar, with no extra words, just roaring in pure joy. He instinctively clenched his fists and roared, "Touchdown! A successful touchdown!"
"Facing a terrible third-and-seventeen situation, the San Francisco 49ers had almost no choice but to try a long pass. The Giants had prepared for it with their defense, completely covering the entire passing area and leaving Lu Ke with almost no room to throw. But in this situation, the 49ers managed to create a gap with their receivers' flexible routes!"
"They didn't just try to convert the third down, they went straight for the end zone! Lu Ke once again showed off his famous long passing skills, with an amazing sixty-one-yard long-pass touchdown, like a missile, delivered accurately to the end zone and finding the team's number two receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., for a fatal blow!"
"God, this is truly incredible! We don't even know how Ginn got into the end zone, but it's a touchdown! Listeners, the home team San Francisco 49ers have once again turned a disadvantage around. They came back from the edge of a cliff and delivered a heavy blow to their opponents! Jesus Christ! Touchdown, touchdown! The second touchdown of the game, and it's still from the San Francisco 49ers, and it's still from Lu Ke!"
Troy's commentary was completely on fire because the entire Candlestick Park was on fire. Almost everyone thought the 49ers were in a desperate situation. A third-and-seventeen was an almost impossible task, but Lu Ke had accomplished another impossible feat, throwing a sixty-one-yard long-pass touchdown! He had completely turned the situation around! The Giants' defense, which had just started to show signs of recovery, was completely stunned. All the defensive players stood still, a little lost. They couldn't seem to remember how they had given up those two touchdowns. Didn't they have the advantage? Didn't they push their opponents to the edge of a cliff? Why was the final result a touchdown for the opponent? How did this all happen?
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