"The Arizona Cardinals choose a red flag challenge, and the referee will conduct an official review..."
Standing on the court at this time were the San Francisco 49ers offense and the Arizona Cardinals defense. Lu Ke had just completed a ten-yard pass on third gear and found the central area with a ten-yard short pass. Logan, Logan completed a swooping rescue while being entangled by outside linebacker Marcus Bernard. After rolling on the spot, he got rid of Bernard, and then Logan stood up again. He got up and pushed forward, advancing nearly another twenty yards at one go.
The referee determined that this was a successful push, and Bruce Arians chose a red flag challenge - leaving no chance for Lu Ke to immediately kick off and continue the game. At the critical moment, Arians also showed his game wisdom. , last year's Coach of the Year was definitely not a fluke. He immediately threw a red flag, forcing the referee to interrupt the game.
The scene was a bit ambiguous. Even the analysts and commentators in the studio were not able to understand Arians' red flag challenge immediately. Could it be because Logan made contact with Bernard when he completed the ball? , and then a dead ball was formed, so Logan’s subsequent advances cannot be counted?
After slow-motion playback of the video, the studio realized that Arians' eyes were vicious.
Arians turned out to be right.
When Logan flew to catch the ball, the football touched the ground first, and then during the rebound, Logan controlled the football with both hands, creating the illusion of completing the ball; everything happened in the midst of tumbling lightning. , even Logan himself was not 100% sure whether the football touched the ground, but Arians still took a big gamble and inadvertently showed the decisiveness of the best coach of the year.
Jim Harbaugh was the Coach of the Year in the 2011 season, and Bruce Arians was awarded the Coach of the Year in the 2012 season, defeating Harbaugh who had completed a winning season. This game also became the two "Coach of the Year" awards. "Judging from the current situation in the head-to-head confrontation between coaches, the two sides still cannot tell the difference.
One-third of the way through the fourth quarter, at ten minutes and fifty-four seconds, Arians changed the entire situation with a risky red flag challenge:
As a result, the San Francisco 49ers failed to convert the third-and-10 yards and entered the fourth-and-10 yards. They were forced to punt and the Arizona Cardinals once again seized the offensive right. At this time, neither the fans nor the players realized the importance of this challenge. The anxious situation of the home team and the visiting team was quietly undergoing a chemical reaction.
In today's game, Palmer, who has never been able to find the passing touch, once again led the team. Although he has a luxurious lineup of wide receivers, Palmer is also in trouble.
On the one hand, our own tight ends and running backs cannot share the pressure, and the changes in offensive tactics cannot be implemented. As the quarterback of the West Coast offensive system, Palmer is also extremely helpless. On the other hand, it is the full strength of the opponent's defensive front. His passing space was squeezed throughout the whole process. From the data point of view, he did not suffer any sacks, but more than 85% of the passes were completed under pressure. Palmer's passing accuracy been seriously affected.
Of course, Palmer's own condition in this game was not ideal. He repeatedly made mistakes in defensive reading and passing vision, which led to a sharp increase in passing risks. The main responsibility for that interception in the end zone still lies with Palmer himself.
For various reasons, the Arizona Cardinals' offense was struggling today.
But the turning point finally came. After the red flag challenge was successful, Palmer once again led the offensive team. At the critical moment, his attention began to increase rapidly. Palmer's passing vision became obviously clearer, and he completed a two-pointer at the beginning. The connection of the ten-yard long pass found Larry Fitzgerald and completed the ten-yard conversion in the second gear. Finally, the home team's offense regained some touch.
This successful long pass connection seemed to completely focus Palmer's attention, and he suddenly found the touch at the end of the first quarter again.
Under continuous pressure from the opposing defense, Palmer showed his outstanding abilities - passing accuracy and long-distance raids should have been his strengths. Don't forget, he was the former Heisman. The winner and the top pick in the draft, in terms of pure talent, he is much better than Lu Ke.
Under heavy pressure, Palmer completed four third-gear transitions in a row - four times!
In other words, after Palmer returned to the field, except for the first offensive attack which was on the second gear and got the first down, every subsequent offense was forced into a third gear dilemma. The Arizona Cardinals running back The team suffered a severe blow from the San Francisco 49ers. The number of yards advanced on the ground in this wave of offense was "-12" yards. Not only was it unable to gain yards, but it was also repeatedly pushed down behind the offensive line of scrimmage by the visiting team's defensive team. , a loss of yardage, which has repeatedly put the home team's offensive team into a dilemma of long yardage in the third gear.
However, facing the third-gear conversion dilemma for four consecutive times, Palmer handed over a perfect answer sheet with 100% successful conversion. There were even two situations where it was suspected that the fourth gear was several inches, but the referee measured it on the spot. Later, both times, the Arizona Cardinals were called successful on third down conversions instead of inches on fourth down, allowing the home team's offensive momentum to continue.
As a result, the situation on the field became more delicate. Palmer not only reopened the passing offense, but also forced the defensive team's continuous fierce pass rush to come to nothing, and had to spend more energy on the pass attack. Above the second line of defense, the momentum of both offense and defense quietly returned to the same level, which is crucial to the game situation.
In the end, this attack came to an end in a dramatic way:
Palmer's five-yard short pass was too hard and hit Larry Fitzgerald's helmet - the entire control of the passing target was completely lost under the collision of the defensive front, and it can even be said to be a waste. Fitzgerald was facing a double-team defense by two players and couldn't free his hands. He had no way or chance to complete the ball. The football directly hit his helmet and shoulder hard. The junction then forms a rebound.
After the rebound, the football slid towards the end zone. Safety guard Eric Reed had a chance to intercept the ball, but the irregular flight of the football slipped past the palms of Reed's hands, like a fish that slipped through the net. Go out; because of Rhett's touch, the flight path slightly changed again, and landed in the chest of wide receiver Michael Floyd. The latter caught the ball with a reflex jump and controlled the football in his hands. .
touchdown.
The analysts and commentators in the studio were completely dumbfounded: What kind of touchdown was this? To be more precise, what kind of attack is this? This is a real dance on the tightrope. The Arizona Cardinals offense is simply playing with fire. Any deviation may directly ruin their efforts. However, the home team has completed it. Lady Luck seems to be on her side again. This side of the University of Phoenix Stadium.
On the 15th offense, 80 yards, 7 minutes and 10 seconds, the Arizona Cardinals completed their second passing touchdown of the game, instantly reversing the situation of lagging behind, "20:16", kicked in the extra point After scoring, the home team overtook the score and regained the lead as the game came to an end.
At this time, there are three minutes and 44 seconds left in the game.
Now, the two free kicks missed by the San Francisco 49ers' special teams are particularly important; but there is no need to go back and complain about the special teams, not to mention that Akins also does not want accidents to occur. They are all uncontrollable, just talking about the game. process, instead of complaining about previous mistakes, it is better to focus all your attention on the remaining game. In three minutes and 44 seconds, anything is possible. It is too early to enter a state of anxiety now.
Then the game went off the rails again.
After Lu Ke once again led the offensive team, the Arizona Cardinals defensive team significantly increased the rhythm and intensity, which also forced Lu Ke to strike out after running the ball once and passing the ball twice, and fell into a fourth-and-five-yard dilemma. bureau.
In fact, there is no problem with Lu Ke's tactics. The most important problem is the mistakes in the second-line offense and defense - Logan once again showed his fatal butter hand. Otherwise, Lu Ke would have got the first attack in the second gear, but in the blink of an eye, The time has come to fourth gear. At this time, there are only two minutes and 42 seconds left in the game. If the ball is transferred to the Arizona Cardinals now, the situation will be very unfavorable for the San Francisco 49ers. So, haha Bo boldly chose the fourth gear to attack.
Fourth gear and five yards.
Lu Ke's five-yard short pass connection with Crabtree was blocked by Peterson in advance - Peterson had a clear understanding of Lu Ke's shadow passing ability behind his shoulder, so he blocked Crabtree in advance. Terry's position forced Crabtree to lose his position, and Lu Ke's passing speed was particularly accurate in order to gain time, and then Crabtree missed Lu Ke's pass.
Fourth gear conversion failed.
Accident?
In fact, it is not surprising that the confrontation and stalemate between the two teams were extremely fierce throughout the game. The San Francisco 49ers, led by Lu Ke, took the upper hand, but the advantage was very, very weak - the two missed free kicks were one of the fierce competition. Microcosm, and even leaving aside the two missed free kicks, the San Francisco 49ers' situation on the field is far from reaching a level of overall dominance.
At the same time, the Arizona Cardinals also continued to fight back with all their strength for this game, which kept the scene in an anxious state. They were at a disadvantage, but the disadvantage was not obvious. They always gritted their teeth and maintained the game. suspense. A little misstep, a little surprise, and a little bit of luck, and it’s no surprise that the tables turned.
Lu Ke stood there, clenched his teeth hard, and grinded his teeth depressedly: now the initiative was no longer in his hands.
