For the Philadelphia Eagles, this was heaven; for the San Francisco 49ers, it was hell.
Especially since it was an away game, with hardly any 49ers fans to be seen. That loneliness and desolation felt like being on the opposite side of the world, isolated and helpless. The deep sense of powerlessness was overwhelming.
After a three-game winning streak, they were so close to a fourth, just one step away, yet they fell short. It seemed to crush everyone's belief instantly, as if they were back in the last eight years, with failure being a persistent nightmare. A team without a leader immediately fell apart like a loose pile of sand.
Michael Crabtree lay on the grass as if all his strength had been drained. He couldn't muster any energy, filled with anger and frustration that he couldn't release. He just lay there quietly, looking at the blue sky above. Then, he saw Lu Ke appear above him.
"One game is over, but the season isn't. Come on, I still need you to play great in the next game. Honestly, did you eat some gunpowder today? You broke three tackles in a row."
Lu Ke's words made Crabtree chuckle. He grabbed Lu Ke's right hand and used the leverage to stand up.
Looking at Lu Ke's dark, shining eyes, which were still full of determination and confidence, Crabtree could feel the weight and bitterness in Lu Ke's words, but there was no sense of defeat in those eyes. He couldn't help but smile, patted Lu Ke's shoulder, and signaled that he was okay.
Lu Ke didn't say much more, just gave a thumbs-up and continued to walk forward. He helped up Justin Smith, patted Reggie Smith, hugged David Akers, bumped shoulders with Ted Ginn, and helped up Navarro Bowman and Aldon Smith. He also hugged Chilo Rachal and Mike Iupati.
One by one, Lu Ke walked to every corner of the field, comforting every teammate.
However, there were too many teammates. Lu Ke had already covered more than half of the field but still couldn't gather everyone. They were all scattered in different places, reluctant to leave. So, he waved to his friends—Logan, Marcus, Aldon, and others—signaling for them to gather everyone.
At this moment, Lincoln Financial Field was still incredibly lively.
The Philadelphia Eagles players were running around the field, celebrating their hard-won victory with their fans. Meanwhile, all the San Francisco 49ers players had gathered in a large circle with Lu Ke at the center. The quiet field was once again becoming lively.
The coaching staff, who were standing on the sidelines ready to leave, noticed this unusual sight. Jim Harbaugh couldn't help but frown and looked at them a few times, still confused. "What are they doing? Why are they still on the field? They need to get back to the locker room."
Craig Roman was also a bit stunned. He had a bold guess, but after the guess surfaced, he was more surprised. He looked at Kip Kroeger, Vic Fangio, and others and saw a similar expression in their eyes, watching the field with interest.
Craig couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise. "Can you believe it?"
Kip didn't answer, just shrugged and spread his hands, indicating he didn't know either. However, the corners of his mouth were slightly turned up. The bitterness of the loss gradually dissipated, and he felt a sense of relief.
"Go back, why aren't you going back? You have to face the reporters for interviews!" Jim was still confused, his head full of questions.
"Jim." Craig patted his old partner on the shoulder. "The interviews can wait. Let the players handle what's happening here. We'll just watch from the side."
Jim blinked, and his confusion only grew.
Similarly, Jed York, standing in front of the VIP room's floor-to-ceiling window, was also puzzled. "What are they doing?" He was about to leave, but then he saw the large circle on the field. What was even stranger was that the coaches were standing outside the circle, watching quietly, with no intention of interfering.
Leigh Steinberg, on the other hand, had a satisfied smile on his face. He never doubted his own judgment, but this time, he was still glad that he had picked this player one step ahead of his competitors.
"He's taking on the responsibility of a leader," Leigh said.
"I hate to lose. Believe me, no one hates to lose more than me. For an undrafted rookie, any loss is an unbearable consequence. As for my looks, I won't deliberately bring it up." Lu Ke deliberately raised an eyebrow, emphasizing his Chinese heritage with a hint of humor, which made people laugh and slightly eased the tension.
Lu Ke continued, "Today, we lost the game, but we are not losers. We fought until the very last second, giving our all to win. Before the last 49 seconds, we had turned the game around. We had the initiative, and our performance deserves a standing ovation from everyone."
"Why did we lose? Not because we didn't play well enough, but because the opponent was better. So, what we need to do now is not to be dejected or give up, but to remember this loss, go back, seriously analyze the game film, and prepare for the next game. We need to get back on the path to victory!"
"But for now, I want everyone to hold their heads high, stick their chests out, and walk off this field with pride. We are not losers. We have the right to enjoy the applause of our fans! Because we are warriors!"
It wasn't a passionate speech, but a steady and firm message, one word at a time, but with an undeniable authority. Lu Ke looked into the eyes of his teammates, calmly and firmly conveying his belief.
In today's game, Lu Ke was hit 13 times and sacked twice, but he also had three touchdown passes and no interceptions. In the previous game, Lu Ke was sacked four times and was under constant pressure, but he led the team to victory with three touchdown passes.
There was also the game-winning play in Week 2, and the blowout win in Week 1... and also, his being thrust into the starting role after Week 4 of the preseason. From joining the team to his first game, Lu Ke had been with the team for less than six weeks, but he led the team to a three-game winning streak, and in today's loss, they fought until the very end.
As Lu Ke said, he never gave up, nor was he ever afraid or retreated. Fighting with all your might until the very last second is a sign of respect for your opponent and a reward for yourself. Victory is the reward for hard work. Defeat is the motivation to keep fighting. On the sports field, he would never bow his head easily!
Looking at Lu Ke, he wasn't strong or familiar. Standing among a group of white and black men, he seemed out of place. He had too little time to gel with the team and, as a rookie, had no college legacy to speak of. But, at this moment, his determination and perseverance ignited a song of blood and fire.
"Guys, I'm going to walk off this field with my head held high! And I'm going to tell those reporters waiting for interviews, 'Yes, we lost this game, but we'll win the next one.' Because we are warriors! Warriors who never admit defeat and never give up!"
Lu Ke's simple words were powerful and passionate!
Chilo Rachal was the first to raise his right fist and shout loudly, "We are warriors!"
Then, Ted Ginn followed suit, raising his right fist. "We are warriors!" A bright and happy smile was on his face, and the sadness and bitterness slowly faded.
Then, Mike Iupati cursed and swore, "Damn it, bullshit!" with a reluctant expression, but he still raised his right fist and roared with all his might, "We are f***ing warriors! Everyone else can go to hell!"
Then Joe Staley, Michael Crabtree, Kyle Williams, Logan Newman, Marcus Lynch, Kendall Hunter... Gradually, all the offensive players joined in, and the shouts of "We are warriors!" rose and fell.
Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman exchanged a look, and both of them laughed to themselves, shrugging their shoulders. Willis was the first to represent them. "Who cares! We are warriors!"
The plain shout made Bowman complain, "That's no energy at all. It's an embarrassment to our defense. Come on, brothers, let's tell our quarterback, we are...?" Bowman suddenly raised his right fist, and a powerful force erupted from deep within his chest. He roared, "We are warriors!"
All the defensive players, including Parys Haralson, raised their right fists. Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, everyone was raising their right fist, jumping, yelling, and roaring. The passionate cheers and shouts tightly bound the entire team together.
In this moment, they were like a real team, united and working together.
Braylon Edwards stood in the crowd, secretly looking left and right, and glanced at Colin Kaepernick hiding behind the crowd. After making sure Kaepernick couldn't see him, he also raised his right hand and hesitated before joining the shout, "We are warriors!" As he shouted, his emotions rose, and his blood began to boil.
This was a tragic loss. In the last two minutes of the game, they experienced a game-winner and a reverse game-winner, going from hell to heaven and back to hell. The dramatic plot almost caused heart attacks. But for the San Francisco 49ers, this was the most important game since the start of the regular season.
Because they had finally found each other and embraced each other.
This team, which had gone through a major overhaul in the off-season, had taken the most important and solid step on its path to rebuilding.
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