Lu Ke realized that he had become arrogant and underestimated his opponent. Even though he had prepared for the game conscientiously, without any slack, the subtle changes in his mentality and focus, as well as his change in attitude towards the Cardinals, had become unknown factors affecting the game. It was as if, in previous games, the San Francisco 49ers had maintained a low profile and were always challenging their opponents, giving their all for every victory. But in this game, the 49ers believed they were the stronger team and that victory would come easily. Unknowingly, they couldn't perform at their peak. In a football game, small differences in details can lead to countless consequences, like a nine-ring puzzle where if one ring gets stuck, all the other rings get stuck as well.
The first interception, his pass was slightly off, Williams's route was a little short, and Logan missed a block. These three small deviations came together and led to Patrick Peterson's interception. It wasn't one person's fault, but it was everyone's fault. The second interception, his mentality was a little too impatient. If he had been a little more composed, even just for a breath, and opened up his passing vision to observe a little more, his pass choices would have had more possibilities. Then, the interception might have turned into a game-winning deep pass. The countless changes in a flash of lightning are often just a single thought away. The difference is that in the past, that single thought always leaned toward the right side, but this time, it leaned toward the wrong side.
Lu Ke always knew that his pass selections were too risky and too aggressive, but this was his style of play and his passing philosophy. In today's game, the tactics themselves were not wrong, but the slowness in the details—or rather, the negligence—was not active enough, not proactive enough, and the emotional mobilization was insufficient. All of these small delays added up, and that's when the two interceptions came.
Now, Lu Ke had to be thankful that neither of the two interceptions had fatal consequences. The Cardinals were unable to capitalize on the second interception, and they only scored a 41-yard field goal, making the score 0-3. But the problem was that his own mind wasn't clear, and his state of play was a bit slow. So, what should he do in the second half? If the system hadn't given him a special mission during halftime, reminding Lu Ke of the human errors in the first half, including the fact that his passing accuracy, pass selection, and tactical passing were not at 100%, which led to the passive play in the first half, Lu Ke would still be lost in the fog. It wasn't until the system notification that Lu Ke realized his arrogance and underestimation of the opponent. Unknowingly, the 8-1 record, the widespread praise, and the sudden surge in popularity over the past week had quietly changed Lu Ke's mentality. The problem was far more serious than he had imagined.
Fortunately, Lu Ke had the system. Unfortunately, sometimes knowing the problem doesn't mean you can solve it. During halftime, Lu Ke gathered his offensive teammates and dissected the problem, hoping that they would get their heads in the game. The Arizona Cardinals were not a team they could just slaughter, but the motivational speeches had little effect. You could tell from his teammates' eyes that their mentality was still very relaxed, too relaxed even. They didn't feel they needed to worry or get nervous against the Cardinals. This was not only because they had just defeated the New York Giants last week, but also because the Cardinals' performance in this game was also mediocre. Even with two great opportunities for a turnover, the score was still 0-3 in the first half, and the 49ers still had control of the game.
Lu Ke didn't give up. He tried to talk to them, tried to make them nervous, and tried to get them to focus. They did so on the surface, but it was unknown if it had a real effect. Only the game could show the true result. Unfortunately, the second half was still a disaster. Lu Ke himself was also to blame. From the quarterback to the offensive line to the receivers, everyone's performance was out of sync. Even Ted Ginn and Logan Newman, who had always been in great form this season, were struggling. The connection between Lu Ke and Logan was undoubtedly the team's biggest weapon, but today, Logan alone had one drop, one misrun, and one time when he couldn't get to the tactical position in time, all of which resulted in an incomplete pass. These were fatal mistakes for a receiver.
Helplessly, Harbaugh had to replace Logan with Vernon Davis, trying to change the running routes and receiving rhythm to get back into the game. But the problem was that Logan wasn't the only one having problems. Ted Ginn and Michael Crabtree also had drops. In this game, the team had four drops—they had successfully caught the ball but, with a slight hit or no hit, their catch was unstable, resulting in an incomplete pass. This was something Lu Ke couldn't control. The correct tactics, accurate passes, and precise power were still unable to lead to a successful drive, which was undoubtedly fatal. Under pressure, Harbaugh also had to change his tactics and put in Braylon Edwards, who hadn't played all season, to try to change the rhythm, but it was clear that this was not a good idea.
These were the visible problems on the field, but the invisible problems were still affecting the 49ers' offense. Although the offensive line didn't allow a sack, the pocket was collapsing much faster than average. Every one of Lu Ke's passes was made in a storm, and the passing pressure he was under was more than in any other game this season, even worse than the Philadelphia Eagles game. This made it impossible for Lu Ke to calm down and observe his targets. He ran out of the pocket twice and successfully led the team to a first down, but these moments of brilliance were too few and far between to get the 49ers' offense to work together.
Despite all this, despite the serious problems the entire team was facing, despite the defense missing tackles, and despite everyone's performance not being at its best, they were still in the game. Just as the players had thought, the threat from the Arizona Cardinals was not enough. Marcus Lynch scored a rushing touchdown, and Lu Ke also led the team into field goal range twice. David Akers made both kicks without any problems, bringing the score to 13-16. The difference was only three points, just one field goal. The opponent only had one more field goal than the 49ers.
The game was a struggle until the very end. With two minutes left on the clock, Lu Ke still had the ball and led the team to the 37-yard line in their own half. They still had a chance to tie the game or even make a comeback. As long as they got into field goal range, it would be an overtime game. If they went a little further into the red zone, they could challenge for a touchdown. In a similar situation, Lu Ke was no longer a rookie, and he wasn't nervous at all. The problem was that the entire team's performance today was not on the right track, and the opponent's harassing defense was also causing a lot of trouble.
"Peterson! Patrick Peterson! God, number 21 cornerback Patrick Peterson! This year's rookie! The young cornerback from the fifth overall pick in the first round! He has once again proven his talent and strength! And he has once again proven that the Cardinals made the right choice in the draft! As a fellow rookie, Peterson showed excellent form against Lu Ke today! He had an interception in the first half, and now, in the final moments of the game, Peterson has ended the game with another interception, killing the 49ers' last-minute comeback and successfully securing the Cardinals' fourth victory of the season! They defeated the previously invincible San Francisco 49ers on the road! God! God! This is a completely unexpected script!
"In that last drive, the San Francisco 49ers were forced to face a difficult situation on fourth down with eight yards to go. In a critical moment, Lu Ke once again chose a long pass, a 33-yard long pass, aimed at the end zone, trying to find his number two receiver, Ted Ginn, and make another comeback! But Peterson refused to be a part of a comeback. He made a prediction early on, covered Ginn in one-on-one coverage, and completed the interception over Ginn's head, ending all possibilities! Now there are only 21 seconds left in the game, and the ball is in the hands of the Cardinals. The game is over! The game is officially over!
"The final score is 13-16. The Cardinals have handed their division rivals their second loss of the season and have broken the San Francisco 49ers' undefeated record at home this season! What kind of script is this? Before the game, no one could have predicted this! Patrick Peterson is undoubtedly the best player in this game. He almost single-handedly ended the game! What did we just witness! What are we witnessing!"
...The chatter had all disappeared. Standing in the middle of the field, Lu Ke had his hands on his hips, his face filled with loneliness and helplessness. Losing a game was not scary. What was scary was losing a game with an interception. The bitter taste surged up in his mouth, his mind went completely blank, and he couldn't make a sound. He looked up, seeing the silent red sea of people. No one had left; everyone was still in the stadium, their faces filled with confusion. This sudden blow had hit everyone hard. Lu Ke blinked, but there were no tears, only a dry, endless sense of confusion. The second loss had arrived so unexpectedly.
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