Chapter 606: In Dire Straits Again
"Hut!"
The moment Lu Ke's hands felt the leather of the football, the thick wall of humanity in his vision came at him like a tsunami. A solid, powerful force came crashing forward, creating an unreasonable air current. Every pore could feel that fierce momentum.
This wasn't a run defense; it was a quarterback blitz. Four defensive linemen and three linebackers worked together, rushing forward as a group. With a "seven-on-five" numerical advantage, the entire pocket immediately began to curl up like a dried squid on a grill. The impact from both sides reached a new level, and you could feel the sharp collisions on the surface of your arms.
But this was not a running play; it was a passing play.
Following the air current, Lu Ke, holding the football, quickly stepped back. One big step, two big steps. One second he was face-to-face with the human wall, and the next second he had created a small gap. However, the Saints' blitz this time was exceptionally well-prepared, completely overpowering the offensive line with their numbers. The gap was barely created before it was swallowed up again.
But for Lu Ke, that was enough. As he finished his steps back, his feet stomped down heavily on the ground, stabilizing his center of gravity. With a twist and a turn, the power was clearly transmitted to his arm. His right arm, which had been pulled back in a crescent arc, instantly shot forward. With a flick of his wrist, the football began to climb upward, tracing a perfect rainbow arc.
"Quarterback blitz! The Saints' defense has unleashed the most powerful blitz of the entire game. With a numerical advantage, the entire pocket is collapsing quickly. Danger! Lu Ke is in danger!"
"Stepping back! It's not a run! Lu Ke is stepping back to adjust! It's a battle of deceptions, and the 49ers' offense has the upper hand again! With both teams making a mistake in their judgment, Lu Ke quickly adjusted with a step back and completed the pass before the pocket completely collapsed!"
"It's a rainbow pass! The arc of the pass is absolutely beautiful! Because of the backlight, it's impossible to judge the direction of the pass as it goes up. The 49ers' four receivers are all moving quickly. Crabtree is making a lateral move to the right. Logan is moving in the short-pass area on the right, and he's ready to catch the ball. Ginn, Ginn is sprinting toward the deep part of the field!"
"Wait, the direction of the pass is... the left side! The left side! Not the right side! All the Saints' defenders have moved to the right side! Now on the left side, it's just Vernon Davis and Malcolm Jenkins in a one-on-one showdown! The flight speed of this pass is very fast. After midfield, it's at the 45-yard line, 40-yard line, 35-yard line..."
"Davis and Jenkins! This is a one-on-one duel between Davis and Jenkins! Vernon Davis instantly accelerates and gets away! Davis uses his explosive power to break free from Jenkins's tight coverage. With a step forward, Davis completes the catch! Beautiful! Davis successfully completed the catch! The catch is successful!"
"Jenkins was a step slow, but he still managed to tackle Davis in time and pushed him out of bounds!"
"This is both thrilling and spectacular! There were no fancy routes. After the snap, Davis completely unleashed his running speed, a simple and straightforward straight sprint. He used his size advantage against Jenkins and practically overpowered him to complete the catch!"
"Vernon Davis, who has been in excellent form today, has once again proven his value at a crucial moment!"
"Wow! What a beautiful pass! The precise arc, the precise power, the precise location! Vernon Davis didn't even need to adjust his steps while running at high speed, and he still successfully completed the catch! Lu Ke's passing is still the most reliable part of the 49ers' game. This is a pass of about 28 yards, and Vernon's successful catch has brought the 49ers to the 32-yard line on the Saints' side of the field."
"Now, the 49ers are in field-goal range. They just need to advance a few more yards to give David Akers a safer, more secure position to kick. This could be enough to kill the game! The Saints, who just took the lead, are now in danger of being defeated at the end. This game is just too thrilling and exciting. You need a big heart to endure it!"
Indeed, this was a game that could take your breath away. The roars in Candlestick Park were starting to become hoarse. The hoarse shouts and cheers never stopped, but the violent beating of their hearts left people parched. It felt like their lungs, which were on fire, couldn't make a sound. The fierce heat seemed to have burned up all the oxygen in the air, making it hard to breathe.
The rest of the game was even more so.
First-and-ten. Kendall Hunter ran with the ball, and amidst the opposing defense's tight coverage, he made a small circle on the right side, broke through, and gained four yards.
Second-and-six. Marcus Lynch ran with the ball, found a small gap in the middle, and after gaining four yards, he was tackled by two linebackers and forced to the ground.
Third-and-two. At this point, there were two minutes and eighteen seconds left in the game. The two consecutive running plays had consumed a tremendous amount of time, and the scales of victory were slowly tipping toward the home team.
At this point, both the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers had only two timeouts left. But the Saints didn't hesitate to use one, otherwise, the 49ers would have surely run the clock down to the two-minute warning and then start the third-down play. Facing a third-and-two, if the 49ers completed the conversion, the Saints' hopes would be slim.
After the timeout, the San Francisco 49ers' offensive players huddled together, waiting for Lu Ke to call the play. But before Lu Ke could finish, the referee threw a yellow flag, stopping the game and announcing a 12-man penalty on the offense, a five-yard penalty.
According to official game rules, only eleven players are allowed on the field for both teams. If there is more than one player, it is a foul. For the defense, this is a major trap. In a game, player rotations are very frequent and normal. Unlike in soccer, where players have to be substituted through the fourth official, in football, players can substitute themselves. They just need to make sure that at the time of the snap, there are only eleven players on the field.
But the defense is not the one who initiates the snap; the offense is. If the offense lines up and calls for the snap, and a defensive player who is being substituted is still slowly walking off the field, even if it's just one foot, it's a 12-man penalty. In crucial moments of a game, the offense can often unexpectedly create a 12-man penalty trap, easily gaining five yards. For the defense, the only thing they can do is to have their substituting players get off the field quickly and not leave anyone behind.
For the offense, this is a very rare penalty. Because the offense has the initiative to snap the ball, the standards and rules for a penalty are slightly different. After the whistle is blown to start the play, when the offense starts to huddle, the players will form a circle around the quarterback. As long as there are more than eleven players in this circle, the referee will call a 12-man penalty.
Overall, the offense still has the initiative. As long as the players stay highly focused and pay attention to the coach's substitutions, even if there are twelve people on the field, as long as they don't participate in the huddle, they won't be called for a penalty. Therefore, an offensive 12-man penalty is not common.
But just now, the San Francisco 49ers had twelve players. Both running backs, Kendall Hunter and Marcus Lynch, were in the huddle, creating a 12-man huddle.
Jim Harbaugh stood on the sideline, clutching his head in frustration, and yelled like Kevin from "Home Alone." Every movement of his body expressed his frustration and sadness. He even put down his clipboard and held up ten fingers with both hands, clearly expressing his point, "Why? Why? Why did this happen! We only have ten men! There are only ten men in our huddle! God! Oh, God! Referee! We only have ten men!"
But the referee shook his head, indicating that the whistle had already blown, and there were still twelve people in the huddle. Hunter was a half-beat slow in leaving, which created the foul. It was just a half-beat difference.
Hunter, who had unintentionally made the mistake, was also extremely frustrated, pounding his helmet. Strictly speaking, the half-beat error was not Hunter's fault, but the rookie running back was still heartbroken. He realized he might have made the biggest mistake of his career, and he left the field with a look of hopelessness. But it was no use, because for the San Francisco 49ers, the situation had completely changed.
If this third-down conversion failed, even if Akers made the field goal, the Saints would still have at least two minutes to come back, which would be more than enough for Brees. The 49ers would be in dire straits. The best-case scenario was to successfully convert on third down, and the 49ers would continue to drive and run down the clock, and then either make a field goal or, even better, a touchdown, to completely kill the game.
But now, third-and-two had become third-and-seven. The situation had suddenly become precarious. They had had all the advantages, but with one mistake, the 49ers were in dire straits. How could Harbaugh not be frustrated, and how could Hunter not be dejected?
With the play clock running out, Harbaugh shook his head and reluctantly called a timeout. The play call for this drive had now become completely different. Lu Ke returned to the sideline, and Harbaugh covered his mouth with his clipboard and began to give Lu Ke instructions in his ear.
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