"Lynch! My God, the San Francisco 49ers chose a running play! This completely caught everyone by surprise. The New York Giants' defense was positioned too far back, leaving a huge gap in the middle. Marcus found a small opening at the slot receiver position and made a powerful breakthrough, gaining three yards easily. The end zone is right there!"
"Two defenders quickly moved in to close the gap. Lynch! Lynch! Lynch! Touchdown! Lynch soared over the two players like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. His graceful and powerful form was truly beautiful! With a splash, Lynch entered the end zone and scored a touchdown!"
"The San Francisco 49ers are on fire! Their passing game remains strong, and over the past few weeks, their running game has also been improving. Marcus Lynch has truly found his place on this team! Another spectacular performance in this game! That leaping touchdown was truly impressive!"
"Once again, the San Francisco 49ers offense has lived up to the expectations of the home fans, scoring another touchdown!"
Troy Polamalu's excited commentary was broadcast across California. Candlestick Park wasn't the only place buzzing; all 49ers fans in California were excited. Facing a strong team like the New York Giants, the 49ers' performance in this week's game was truly eye-opening, as if the two teams weren't even on the same level. It was hard to believe this was a matchup between a seven-and-one team and a six-and-two team. For 49ers fans, game day was a day of celebration, and it was once again becoming a special day for the city of San Francisco.
In the broadcast booth, after their initial exclamations, Kirk and Teddy quickly calmed down. What was supposed to be a closely contested game had become a one-sided affair. This was more disappointing than surprising for commentators and neutral fans. Aside from 49ers fans, no one wanted to see this.
Kirk immediately gave his analysis. "The New York Giants are starting to show some signs of life, but the San Francisco 49ers were quick to stop their comeback. Accurate defensive reads and a smart play call are the reasons for the 49ers' unstoppable offense. They've once again scored a beautiful touchdown, extending their lead and widening the gap."
There had been so much praise that it was starting to become routine. Faced with Lu Ke's brilliant performance, Kirk didn't give much more commentary, just glossing over it. "Yes, the score is now 21-6. Even if they go for a two-point conversion after a touchdown, they would still need at least two drives to tie or take the lead. For the New York Giants, who have not been in rhythm today, the situation is getting worse," Teddy agreed. "The first half is about to end, and the Giants still have two timeouts left. Do you think they'll go all out?" (The Giants had two timeouts remaining because a failed challenge had cost them one.)
"Why not?" Kirk said simply and decisively. Sure enough, when Manning took the field again, he lined up in a shotgun formation and threw the ball deep, trying to get down the field as quickly as possible to either score a touchdown or at least a field goal. Unfortunately, Manning's touch in the first half was terrible. His attempt at a deep pass turned into his first interception of the game. With no struggle or resistance, the first half ended abruptly. The players went into their locker rooms to prepare for the second half.
Kirk and Teddy's analysis still echoed. When they had some downtime, they looked at each other with wide eyes, completely speechless. They weren't surprised by Manning's interception—the Giants had the most interceptions and were intercepted the most in the league this season—but they were surprised by the Giants' poor performance.
"Candlestick Park is showing a true home-field advantage. In the first half, the San Francisco 49ers were in great form, with two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Facing the Giants' defense, which had completely shut down Tom Brady in their last game, the 49ers' offense looked at ease," Teddy said with a smile, shaking his head in disbelief. "On the other hand, the New York Giants, playing on the road, seem to have been severely affected by the home crowd and have not been able to get into a rhythm."
Kirk nodded in agreement with his partner. "That's right. As I recall, Eli Manning had at least three bizarre and wild throws, two of which were made without any pressure or contact. It's ridiculous. Besides the home-field intimidation, I can't think of any other reason." Kirk continued, "Halftime is crucial for both teams. The scales of victory are slowly tipping toward the home team, but no one should forget that the New York Giants are one of the best fourth-quarter teams in the league."
"There's a saying in sports that never goes out of style for any team: anything is possible until the game ends. The soccer ball is round, and so is the football—even though it's an oval," Teddy added. "Maybe the impact of the Super Bowl XLII game was just too big. However, no one can deny that the Giants' performance in the second half is something to look forward to."
When the game resumed, this saying was proven true, at least for the third quarter. The Giants started the second half with the ball, but Manning still couldn't find his rhythm and went three-and-out. After the punt, the 49ers got the ball back around their own 38-yard line, once again giving Lu Ke a great starting position. However, the 49ers' offense seemed to have a dip in performance. On a running play, Marcus Lynch, who was running aggressively with the ball, fumbled after a strong hit from a linebacker. Luckily, Crabtree was right there and was able to recover the ball, preventing a turnover.
On the second down, a pass to Crabtree was a six-yard completion. However, the hero of the previous play, Crabtree, inexplicably had buttery hands and almost caused an interception after a defender pulled on him. Fortunately, the referee threw a flag for a defensive holding penalty, which prevented a disaster. On the do-over second down, Lu Ke's pass was a little too far, just grazing Ted Ginn's fingertips before flying out of bounds, resulting in an incomplete pass. On third down, Lu Ke went for it and threw the ball to Logan Newman, but Logan was tackled after only two yards.
Facing a great starting position, the 49ers had a quick three-and-out. They couldn't pull off a comeback this time and had to punt. Even worse, Lu Ke's right arm was showing symptoms of muscle cramps. After the pass, Lu Ke stood there and started stretching his arm. He had had some issues with his arm control on the last two throws. He thought it was just tight muscles, but as he stretched, he noticed that his biceps were too stiff, with signs of a cramp. This reminded Lu Ke of what Leigh Steinberg had told him. He looked up, and he could almost see Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning, as well as Leigh, in the stands.
This time, he didn't hide it. When he got to the sideline, he told Kip Christ and asked for the team doctor. The news quickly spread through the 49ers' team. On the surface, everyone was calm, as if they had seen it all before, not worried about this small matter. But secretly, their eyes couldn't help but drift toward Lu Ke. It wasn't that Lu Ke's charisma was so great, but they all knew that the offense needed Lu Ke. In many cases, their brilliant plays came from Lu Ke's play calls. In the game, Lu Ke's calm and steady demeanor had become the backbone of the offense. If Lu Ke was injured... everyone's eyes involuntarily turned toward Alex Smith. At the beginning of the season, they were all confident in Alex, but now, they were not so sure.
Logan Newman stood next to the bench, drinking water, but his peripheral vision was fixed on Lu Ke. He felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned his head to see Mike Iupati's sweaty face, looking concerned. He asked in a low voice, "Is he okay?" Logan looked up and saw Marcus Lynch and Ginn standing behind Iupati, as well as Crabtree and Williams, who were pretending to warm up behind the bench but were secretly watching Lu Ke. Goodwin and Staley were also standing nearby with worried looks on their faces. They were all relaxing, resting, and preparing for the rest of the game, but they hadn't left.
Involuntarily, Logan also turned his head, his eyes on Lu Ke. In college, on the first day Lu Ke was a practice player, he was covered in bruises and bumps from all the hits. It wasn't a serious injury, just muscle swelling, but his hands and knees were shaking, and he could barely stand, making him the laughingstock of the team. But the next day, Lu Ke still showed up for practice and pushed through it again. Later, on the third day, the fourth day... even now, Logan clearly remembers the expressions on his teammates' faces. They looked like they had seen a ghost. The mocking smiles on their faces slowly became their own.
"He'll be fine," Logan said with conviction. No one knew how much effort Lu Ke had put in to get to where he was today, but Logan knew that Lu Ke would never give up easily. Never.
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