The Monday night game has reached the most critical moment. The official time is suspended, and there are still two minutes before the end of the game.
The score on the court was "24:27". The San Francisco 49ers playing at home were still three points behind.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, who were playing away from home, not only maintained the score advantage, but also had the ball in their hands and still had the initiative to win the game; but they faced a fourth-and-six-yard dilemma.
During the timeout, the players from both sides returned to their teams' side, gathered around the coaching staff, and listened to the next instructions; the members of the logistics team held water bottles and asked the players one by one. The bustling crowd The crowd was moving quickly.
In a short period of time, the atmosphere of the game did not relax, but became increasingly tense.
Lu Ke held the thermos cup in both hands, sipping chicken soup in sips, with a down jacket draped over his shoulders. Then he saw Willis walking towards him, breathing heavily, and asked with concern, "How is it?" How is it?"
"It's not the best, but it's enough." Lu Ke replied simply. Now his body temperature has gradually returned, but he still can't help but shiver when he returns to the sidelines. He needs to keep walking back and forth to keep his muscles warm.
But what's more important now is the Steelers' offense. It's not yet the 49ers' turn to play. Lu Ke raised his chin, "I think they will try to make an early move."
"For what?" Willis also followed Lu Ke's line of sight and looked over. Now the Steelers are facing six yards on fourth down. Even if they lose five yards from the early penalty, it's still one yard on fourth down.
"The battle for momentum." Lu Ke said simply, "If we can get an early move, the next step may be a real strong attack in the fourth gear; and it can also consume the game time. The gap between three points and six points, for them In fact, the difference is not as big as imagined.”
Simply put, the gap is now three points. The Steelers chose to attack in fourth gear, but failed. Next, if the 49ers could score a free kick, it would be a tie and enter overtime; if the 49ers could score a touchdown, the game could be reversed.
The Pittsburgh Steelers gave up a fourth-down attack and chose a free kick, widening the score gap to six points. So, if the 49ers score a free kick, they lose the game; if the 49ers score a touchdown, they can also reverse the game.
In other words, for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the difference between a three-point advantage and a six-point advantage is not as big as imagined.
If it is Lu Ke, he will choose the fourth gear to attack and try to deceive the early move. Even if it does not succeed, it will not hurt. Once it succeeds, the fourth gear and six yards will become the fourth gear and one yard, and that is when you can really try to force the attack. The number is up.
Once they enter a fourth-gear, one-yard situation, Lu Ke will choose to attack hard. Even if they fail, they can still consume the game time. If they successfully complete the fourth-gear conversion and gain another opportunity to attack in third-gear, they can basically kill the game.
As a quarterback, Lu Ke's way of thinking is more comprehensive and bolder. The only question now is, do the Steelers dare to try this? Do they have such courage?
After a reminder from Lu Ke, Willis immediately understood. His pupils shrank slightly and he laughed dumbly, "God, you are really a madman." But after sighing, Willis quickly walked towards the defensive team and coaching staff. I walked in the direction where I was and started communicating with everyone.
after the official timeout ends. Sure enough, the Pittsburgh Steelers chose to attack hard, and Roethlisberger led the offensive team to appear again.
Willis gathered all the members of the defensive team together and emphasized again and again that he would rather kick off half a beat slower and lose the advantage of a forced start than to make an early move. Because it is too difficult for the opponent to complete the fourth gear and six yards, even if they lose the advantage at the moment of kickoff, they can still have the upper hand.
But...the accident still happened.
"Early move, defensive team, No. 99, lose five yards. Replay fourth down."
The referee's voice came over, and there was a sigh of regret in Candlestick Stadium. Standing in the middle of the stadium, No. 99 outside linebacker Aldon Smith had a lonely and tangled expression on his face. Navarro Bowman was first He immediately jumped up and cursed to vent his anger; Willis was also extremely stunned and subconsciously turned his head to look at Lu Ke who was standing on the sidelines.
At this time, Lu Ke was wearing a down jacket and was still jumping on the spot to warm up. Sensing Willis's eyes, Lu Ke also clenched his free left fist to cheer him up. Not only did he not give up, but he did not panic.
Willis let out a long breath and looked at the timetable on the big screen: two minutes, still two minutes.
After the official timeout came back, the time was still fixed at two minutes. Only when the offensive team announced the kickoff, time would start running again; but just now, before Roethlisberger kicked off, Aldon had already moved early. , and then the referee threw a yellow flag and suspended the game, which meant that time was still not wasted.
Willis patted Aldon heavily on the shoulder, "Cheer up. Four gears and one yard! Let's complete the task and let Bambi play!" After saying that, Willis didn't pay much attention to Aldon anymore, but All members of the defense team were quickly called together, "Guys, we need to get Bambi on the field!"
"This is the last defense of the game. If we lose, we lose the game! So, cheer up everyone! Look at No. 14 standing on the sidelines. That's our quarterback. He Today's state is simply terrible. He can hardly calm down and pass the ball well, but he still retains a glimmer of hope for us to win. Believe me, you don't want to lose this defense! Count to three, let's go together Shout, victory! One, two, three!"
"victory!"
The game started again, and as expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers really chose to power play.
After the kickoff, Roethlisberger quickly stepped back, turned around and threw the football with his knife, finding Antonio Brown who was pulling quickly from the left!
"Carlos Rodgers! Carlos Rodgers! Oh, Jesus Christ, my heart almost stopped beating. Carlos Rodgers swatted away Roethlisberger's pass at the critical moment and prevented Antonio Brown from making another pass." The catch, this is a game-changing defense! God, God, the referee did not give a yellow flag, Rodgers completed the most exciting defense of the entire game!"
The fourth-down conversion failed and there was no need for the special team to punt. The offensive and defensive teams of both sides competed again above the 17-yard line, but one step was lost. The San Francisco 49ers attacked and the Pittsburgh Steelers defended.
This seventeen yards is the seventeen yards of the 49ers half; and the attack just now consumed a full eight seconds, and now there is only the last minute and fifty-two seconds left on the court. As Lu Ke said, this is a good deal for the Steelers.
"Now, the San Francisco 49ers offense will be on the field again, and all the pressure is on the rookie quarterback. God, can this Monday Night Game be any better?"
The players from the offensive team and the defensive team gave each other a thumbs up when they were going on and off the court. Carlos bumped Lu Ke's shoulder hard with a proud smile on his face, "This is fighting for you. of!"
"Then it's my turn now." Lu Ke replied with a smile, put on his helmet and ran towards the court.
At this moment, the entire Candlestick Stadium was tense to the extreme.
All the audience stood up collectively, and even all the staff in the VIP boxes, stadium tunnels and outfield spaces also stood up. Their uneasiness, anxiety and nervousness were fully exposed; then, as the 49ers offensive team came on the field, The shouts, cheers, and roars gradually subsided, and the "boos" to signal everyone to be quiet came one after another, lest the slightest sound might disturb the quarterback's tactical arrangement.
Such a scene is spectacular.
All the players on the offensive team gathered around Lu Ke, forming a big circle. Lu Ke knelt down on one knee, quickly glanced at the countdown clock through the gap, and said quickly, "In such a scene, we have already We are no strangers, so I believe you are not nervous at all."
The joking words made everyone chuckle, "Now, I need you to focus on it. Because we still have a touchdown to complete." It was not a free kick, but a touchdown, the understatement revealed. The strong self-confidence that emerges reflects the brilliance of perseverance in every pair of eyes.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense still did not back down, but after repeated attacks in the second half, changes finally occurred.
Now, more care must be given to both the mid-pass and long-pass areas, and the opponent cannot be allowed to take whatever they want. When the frontcourt continues to invest troops to exert strong pressure, it means that the burden on the second-line defense is heavier. The cornerbacks and safety guards must cover the position more comprehensively. If necessary, the two inside linebackers also need to retreat slightly accordingly. Some.
The steel curtain is not really made of iron after all.
This is not the most ideal situation, but it is enough for Lu Ke.
Our own half's seventeen-yard line, ten yards on first down.
After the kickoff, Lu Ke could clearly see that the defensive positions of the safety guard and cornerback were retreating. Obviously, the deterrence brought by the fatal long pass just now cannot be underestimated, but this time, Lu Ke Ke chose the screen short pass tactic.
After moving quickly, he found Vernon Davis who was close to the sideline with his knife on the ground. With precise control of a shadow pass behind his shoulder, he avoided William Guy's defense. Before Clark's supplementary defense arrived, Vernon stabilized the ball. He caught the football securely and immediately went out of bounds for a six-yard gain.
Second gear four yards.
The San Francisco 49ers set up a shotgun formation. Lu Ke just made a step adjustment and chose a quick short passing tactic to find Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis who were both on the left. Relying on Vernon's pick-up, Crabtree completed the ball before two defensive players closed the door, and then turned out of bounds.
That's another six. Not only did he successfully get the first attack, but he also suspended the game time in time.
Two consecutive short passes took only seven seconds, and they reached the 29-yard line in one go. It was efficient and strong. The "San Francisco Mode" seemed to have started again!
