With a clear mind, Marcus Lynch had truly achieved a state of complete focus. There was no thought, no hesitation. His only goal was to advance, advance, and advance again.
With a juke, he avoided a tackle that was meant to take him down. With a stride, his peripheral vision caught two Eagles players attempting a double-team. As he saw the path in front of him rapidly shrinking and the encirclement closing in, Marcus sped up, and then sped up some more.
Speed wasn't Marcus's absolute best quality, but his 4.50-second 40-yard dash time in the rookie training camp showed that he was capable of an overpowering burst of speed.
In that moment, a completely focused Marcus pushed his speed to the limit. His body felt light, and his feet were like the wind. His joints were popping as if he were on fire wheels. He had an unstoppable momentum, a combination of agility and aggressive force that was both contradictory and perfectly harmonious.
Just as the two players were about to complete their pincer move, Marcus narrowly broke through. He could feel the touch of their fingertips trying to grab his jersey. Every muscle in his body tensed up, and a simultaneous rush of goosebumps and adrenaline pushed his speed to another level, putting him into a full-sprint mode.
"Whoosh."
The two Eagles players missed completely. Just as the encirclement was about to close, Marcus escaped. Their hands only grabbed a gust of spinning air. The force they had put into their lunges hit nothing, and they stumbled, flailing their arms to keep their balance and avoid a clumsy fall.
All they could see was Marcus's light and agile stride, kicking up dust as he ran away. They had failed to close the door!
"...The San Francisco 49ers rookie running back, Marcus Lynch, is handling this kickoff return. After the catch, he hesitates for a moment, seemingly assessing the difficulty of the return, then heads straight for the dense defensive area in the middle. The Philadelphia Eagles miss the first tackle, and then... Lynch breaks through the double-team of two players! He's broken through! My God!"
After the kickoff, the commentators dutifully shifted their attention to the field. They had initially assumed it would just be a routine play, so their commentary was a little slow. But then they noticed something unexpected. After missing the first tackle and a second one, Marcus burst forward with an unstoppable momentum, cutting through the dense crowd like a hot knife through butter. With a "sizzle," the packed group of people fell apart.
The sight of it all gave everyone a powerful shock.
Kirk watched the live feed on the field, his face full of surprise. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Lost their positions! After Lynch broke out of the encirclement, the Philadelphia Eagles' special teams players all lost their positions and couldn't recover!
The entire defense is out of position, and the encirclement is completely torn apart! With Lynch's pure speed, they can't get back to tackle him. It's a footrace now, a battle of speed!"
Marcus was running vertically. After his powerful breakaway from the double-team, a gap opened up in the circle. On his running path, there were no Eagles players left. All the opposing players were now to his side or behind him.
This meant that Marcus had broken out of the encirclement, and there was nothing in front of him. For the Eagles' players to make a tackle, they had to either use their pure speed to get ahead of Marcus and cut him off or keep up with him and tackle him from behind with a diving tackle.
As Kirk said, this had become a battle of speed, like a 100-meter dash, with all the athletes sprinting in the same direction.
Everything was so complicated, yet so simple.
Marcus had a clear path ahead. He couldn't see any Eagles players in front of him. His peripheral vision could see players running diagonally, trying to cut him off. But Marcus wasn't going to give them a chance. Speed up, and then speed up some more. That was all he had to do.
His adrenaline was now in full gear. His feet were pushing off the ground so powerfully, and his legs were moving so fast! Holding the football tightly in his right hand, Marcus, with his mind completely clear, aimed for the end zone on the other side of the field. He ran in a straight line, pushing his speed to the maximum. It felt like the soles of his shoes were on fire. The sound of the wind rushing past filled his ears, and he felt like he was soaring!
He crossed his own half of the field, then the opponent's half, and charged toward the land of victory! Running was that simple!
"Lynch! Lynch! My God, the 35-yard line, the 45-yard line, midfield... Unstoppable, Lynch is completely unstoppable. The 49ers players are providing protection, blocking for him. The Eagles players are trying to catch up, all of them following behind Lynch, like the tail of Halley's Comet, sweeping across the entire field. It's a spectacular sight!"
"Forty yards, thirty yards, twenty yards... They can't catch him. The Philadelphia Eagles players can't catch up, but Lynch isn't slowing down. He's still accelerating, charging toward victory with a single breath. Fifteen yards, ten yards! Touchdown! Touchdown! There's no doubt about it, that's a kickoff return touchdown! The San Francisco 49ers have scored a touchdown!"
"My God, that's a 106-yard kickoff return touchdown! In the face of the Philadelphia Eagles' strong performance, the San Francisco 49ers have responded with an even more aggressive one. Marcus Lynch has scored the team's first kickoff return touchdown of the regular season! Amazing, that is truly amazing!"
Screams, roars, cheers—the entire commentary booth was in an uproar. "Touchdown," such a simple word, erupted simultaneously from the mouths of all the commentators, expressing the same passion in different ways. The explosive gasps and excitement created a powerful storm that swept through Ford Field.
"Touchdown! That's a kickoff return touchdown! It's the second-longest kickoff return touchdown of the 2011 season so far! Marcus Lynch has created an incredible miracle! He's scored a touchdown! He's closed the gap for the San Francisco 49ers once again! My God, this young team is showing unimaginable youthful energy. The San Francisco 49ers have once again proven that their three-game winning streak was not just luck!"
The commentators' voices were now hoarse and exhausted. Their bloodshot eyes and torn voices showed their frenzy. In contrast, Ford Field was completely silent. The shock was followed by a silence and bewilderment that was so profound that even the sound of the wind seemed perfectly clear.
What was supposed to be a completely normal kickoff had resulted in the biggest surprise of the game so far. Marcus had scored a kickoff return touchdown! A 106-yard kickoff return touchdown would undoubtedly be a highlight-reel play of the week, even of the season!
In Week 1 of the regular season, the Green Bay Packers' rookie wide receiver, Randall Cobb, scored a 108-yard kickoff return touchdown. Now, Marcus Lynch, also a rookie, has contributed a 106-yard kickoff return touchdown!
Spectacular, truly spectacular, showcasing the charm of football to the fullest!
For the home fans, this was a devastating blow. A kickoff return touchdown is even worse than a regular touchdown.
This was supposed to be the Philadelphia Eagles kicking off and the San Francisco 49ers' offense taking the field. They had hoped their defense could stop the opponent's drive. But now, the opponent's offense didn't even need to take the field, and their own defense didn't need to either. Without a single drop of blood, the opponent had scored a touchdown.
A kickoff return touchdown is fast, direct, and brutal, like a swift stroke of a knife. It's a rare sight in any game. For the scoring team, it's a huge boost to their morale, but for the team that gets scored on, it's a fiery hell.
Everything happened so fast and so violently that they were caught completely off guard. The home fans even forgot to boo, just watching the field with their mouths wide open.
Dead silence, a complete dead silence. But in this boundless silence, a fierce and aggressive voice erupted, "Who's the man? Who's the man?! Ahhh!"
It was Marcus Lynch.
Standing in the end zone, Marcus slammed the football to the ground. His hands were clenched into fists, his body was tense like a bow, and he roared frantically at the home fans in the stands. The suppression and frustration of playing on the road were all released in that moment. He mimicked King Kong, pounding his chest with his fists, filled with passion and excitement, a complete and total release.
It was a show of force!
It was an unexpected start, but a beautiful ending.
When he caught the ball, Marcus had no idea the return would be so effective. But clearly, there was a communication error in the Philadelphia Eagles' special teams. The coordination between the kicker and the other players seemed to have gone wrong. The ball wasn't kicked out of the end zone, and the central encirclement didn't form. So, after Marcus broke through the double-team with his extreme speed, everything became simple.
All the players on the San Francisco 49ers' special teams rushed over, slapping Marcus on the back and celebrating the touchdown with laughter and cheers.
For special teams, opportunities like this are rare. Standing on that stage, they seize every chance to show their skills and actively contribute as a player. So, they were now fully enjoying and celebrating their moment.
The fierce show of force and the roaring echoed in the stands. The home fans finally started to recover. After a brief period of silence and shock, Ford Field began to get rowdy again. Boos and roars came in waves, as the home fans tried their best to make noise and once again suppress the San Francisco 49ers' high morale.
But that was no easy task.
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