Lu Ke's eyes were locked on Logan, and he even held his passing posture, unconsciously clenching his teeth as he watched Logan make the catch. He then watched as Logan rolled into the end zone, and all the strength in his body rushed to his muscles, exploding out. Lu Ke leaped into the air, clenched his right fist, and punched downward. All the frustration and suppression from the second half poured out. They had succeeded, they had succeeded again! They had scored a touchdown, they had tied the score, and they had left the chance to win at the feet of David Akers! They had done it!
All the players swarmed toward Logan in the end zone, slapping his helmet and his back, joining the crowd in shouting and cheering wildly. But Logan shook off all his teammates, turned around, and ran toward Lu Ke. He sped up, sped up again, and finally jumped into Lu Ke's arms, celebrating by banging their helmets together.
"We did it! We, this is us, we did it together!" Logan shouted passionately. Lu Ke couldn't help but laugh out loud, finally able to let out his emotions. "Yes, we did it!" It wasn't just one person, and it couldn't have been done by one person. It wasn't even just Lu Ke and Logan, but the entire team that did it. They had once again shown their resilience at a critical moment and successfully taken control of the game.
"Can you believe it? The Giants' defense had almost completely given up on defense at the last minute. Their defensive formation was always man-to-man, always." After the initial excitement, Kirk and Teddy started to analyze the play again.
"In front of a quarterback who is so good at plays like Lu Ke, every move they made was completely in Lu Ke's rhythm. What looked like a thrilling game was actually under Lu Ke's control the whole time. In the last drive, at least three times, the Giants' defense was caught in a mismatch and Lu Ke took advantage of it, completing pass after pass and finally scoring a touchdown!" Kirk shook his head, concluding, "The Giants' defense was ultimately outmatched at the critical moment. The same strategy can work ten times, but it doesn't mean it will work an eleventh time. This is the NFL, this is professional football. Even though the quarterback on the other side is a rookie, no one can underestimate his ability. After the 49ers got their rhythm back from the first half, they once again suppressed their opponents."
Exciting, thrilling, incredible. This truly showed the uncertainty of sports, that anything is possible! On the TV screen, the catch from the touchdown was being replayed over and over again. Slowly, Kirk and Teddy noticed something was wrong. Teddy was the first to speak up. "Wait, before he got into the end zone, Logan had already hit the ground."
"Yes, just before the end zone, Logan had already sat on the ground, making the ball dead. This is not a touchdown. This is a pass that advanced to the one-yard line." Kirk also came to his senses and nodded in agreement.
In the league, the rules for a dead ball after a catch are very complicated, but can be simply summarized as "the body's torso hitting the ground," which includes the back, buttocks, knees, etc. If only the hands touch the ground, but the main part of the body is still in the air, then the player can continue to advance legally. The commentators slowly came to their senses and remembered Logan's panda-like backward roll. The referees also came to their senses. After rewatching the replay, they confirmed the commentators' guess.
"After an official review, the on-field call must be changed. This advance touched the ground before entering the end zone, at the one-yard line. At the same time, the moment of landing was at eighteen seconds. According to the official rulebook, from the moment the referee announces the penalty until the start of the game again, ten seconds must be taken off the clock. So, the game clock is now adjusted to eight seconds. San Francisco 49ers, first-and-goal."
"Boo... Boo... Roar, roar, roar..."
The entire Candlestick Park was filled with boos and noise. From the ecstasy of a comeback to the disappointment of returning to reality, the fans' emotions were out of control. They couldn't care less and started booing the referee, thinking that a good touchdown by their team had been ruined by the referee. Even Jiang Youning was no exception. She made a horn with her hands and put it to her mouth, constantly booing the referee on the field.
Catching a glimpse of a fan in a wheelchair sitting next to her, Jiang Youning turned around and saw the fan's shocked and scared expression. He seemed unable to believe that this seemingly elegant lady would do something so rude, which made Jiang Youning laugh happily. She raised her hand, motioning for the fan to join in. "I bet you we'll win this game!" Jiang Youning shouted, her eyes and cheeks filled with confident light.
On the field, the head referee calmly announced all the penalties, then turned and walked onto the field, ready to start the game again. For the two teams, it was a different scene. The 49ers' offense looked shocked and surprised, while the Giants' defense looked relieved. As a quarterback, Lu Ke was the first to calm down. He knew that arguing about these details was useless now. If he had a problem with the referee's call, he could only appeal after the game. For now, they were on the one-yard line, first-and-goal. That was all there was to it. He had to refocus and get back into the game. If the first touchdown didn't work, then they would try for a second.
The question was, why did ten seconds have to be taken off the clock? Lu Ke walked over to the head referee and politely asked about his confusion. Amidst the noise from the crowd, the referee explained it simply. Just now, after the referee announced the touchdown, the ball became dead, and the clock stopped. But in reality, the touchdown wasn't successful, and according to the rules, the clock should have kept running. So, ten seconds had to be taken off. The moment Logan touched the ground was at eighteen seconds, so the clock was adjusted to eight seconds. But on the other hand, after the clock was adjusted, it wouldn't start running again, and the 49ers would get twenty-five seconds for a huddle. Lu Ke nodded in understanding. For them, while they had missed a touchdown, at least the clock had stopped, and they could call a new play. That was a good thing. Since they couldn't change the call, they had to look forward.
"A run? Or a pass?" Teddy asked. Kirk's answer was simple. "A pass! There are only eight seconds left. A run takes too much time and is too risky, even on the one-yard line. So, Lu Ke should still pass. This is the 49ers' best play and also the most effective play."
On the field, both teams lined up again. The 49ers switched to a two-by-two formation, but the Giants... were still in man-to-man defense. However, this time there was a slight change. Because it was a one-yard line battle, the Giants' defense stacked a lot of players on the line to stop the 49ers' powerful run game and a one-yard touchdown. They only left one safety in the back to cover, and the entire defensive formation was greatly condensed because of the one-yard line.
Pistol formation. Lu Ke became completely quiet, focused. He heard the referee's whistle, and the game clock started running again. He immediately called the snap. Jonathan Goodwin passed the ball to Lu Ke. Lu Ke didn't hesitate or take a step back. He turned to the left, raised his hand, and threw the ball. It was a quick and clean throw that took less than a second. The ball was already gone. The execution of the play was so fast that the Giants had no time to react.
Why? Because it was man-to-man defense, not zone defense. If it were zone defense, the players would have to change their routes, disrupt the opponent's zones, and find an open space to pass. But with man-to-man defense, a pass completed immediately after the snap meant that every receiver was in a one-on-one situation. This was the simplest and most direct matchup, and no open space was needed. This time, Lu Ke's choice was... Michael Crabtree.
Because Lu Ke's pass was so fast, Crabtree only needed to lower his shoulder and run forward, completely catching Kiwanuka off guard. Kiwanuka fell straight to the ground, and Crabtree took two steps forward, raised his hands, and made the catch. It was clean and simple. The other players' battles hadn't even started yet, and he was already standing in the end zone with the football.
Another touchdown! "Ahhh!" Candlestick Park completely exploded, even more so than the first time. The suspense had just started to build when it was killed for the second time with such an easy touchdown. But this time, the 49ers' players didn't celebrate. Crabtree, looking surprised, looked at the referee and raised his hands, pleading his innocence.
A yellow flag appeared. The referee didn't signal a touchdown but instead signaled that there was a penalty on the last play. According to the rule of offensive pass interference, this meant that the referee thought the penalty came from the offense. Otherwise, he would have just announced the touchdown. The head referee immediately announced the penalty. "Pass interference, offense, number fifteen, ten-yard penalty, repeat first down."
The boos erupted, and the noise exploded. Candlestick Park had just reached its emotional peak and was once again hit hard. They not only failed to score a touchdown, but they also lost ten yards. This was a total scam! All seventy thousand fans remained standing, turning their thumbs down to express their strong dissatisfaction. But it was no use.
Three seconds, first-and-eleven. That was the 49ers' current situation.
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