The King of Bay Area Chapter 365: A Return to Form

Tear! Marcus Lynch instantly saw the gap in front of him. It was as if a paper wall had been lightly torn, and a huge hole appeared. The entire backfield was visible, and he could even see all the way to the end zone. The crisp sound was so clear that it danced joyfully in his eardrums.

With such a great opportunity, there was no reason for him to miss it.

Accelerating, and then accelerating again, Marcus gradually increased his speed. His eyes quickly scanned both sides, staying alert and observing the positions of the defensive players and the real-ti changes in the open spaces on the field.

The entire Detroit Lions' secondary was in chaos. The charging defensive linen and linebackers were instantly thrown into disarray. All of them started to retreat in a frenzy, swarming toward Marcus's direction. The cornerbacks and safeties of the secondary also rushed forward, forming a circle to block Marcus.

In an instant, Marcus was surrounded. With him at the center, the players scattered across the field quickly converged. But Marcus wasn't nervous at all. With his eyes wide open, he imdiately caught a cornerback charging in from the left to cover!

Marcus didn't even get a clear look at the opponent's jersey number. He lowered a shoulder and turned sideways, slamming into the opponent's shoulder. The opponent spun like a top. Using the montum, Marcus changed his running route, pulling out to his right side and avoiding the large patch of Honolulu blue on his left.

But his steps seed to be a little too slow. First, a figure from his left side ca crashing in sideways with increasing speed, and Marcus's steps stumbled, but he barely maintained his balance. Then, two figures from his right side completed a tackle at the sa ti, piling on top of Marcus one after another.

Even so, Marcus didn't fall to the ground imdiately. He stubbornly continued to advance with the ball, forcing his way forward for another two yards. Only then did his speed completely stop. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, panting heavily.

Handing off the football, faking a pass, Lu Ke completed his work in an orderly manner. His eyes were locked on Marcus's back. He then watched him advance forcefully for a full twelve yards before falling to the ground. This not only successfully gave the San Francisco 49ers a first down but also brought them to midfield with great montum.

Lu Ke clenched his fist tightly, cheering himself on.

Everything was going according to plan. He was calm and thodical. Beyond the plays, his reading of the ga and his grasp of opportunities were gradually starting to work. Alex's words from earlier were also slowly starting to sink in. "Every play is different."

After a series of offensive setbacks, with two simple and quick play calls, the San Francisco 49ers quickly advanced to midfield. In this "the brave one wins" showdown, Lu Ke was slowly regaining his rhythm. Clenching his fist and cheering was not only for this successful drive but also to affirm his play calls for these two drives. Now, he needed to maintain this state and continue to improve.

Under Lu Ke's leadership, the offense ca to their own forty-eight-yard line and lined up.

On first and ten, Lu Ke threw a two-yard pass on a horizontal slant route, trying to find Vernon Davis, but unfortunately, the pass's power and arc were slightly off. The ball's landing spot was far from Vernon, who only had ti to symbolically reach for it. He couldn't complete the catch and could only watch as the football flew out of bounds.

On second and ten, Lu Ke found Vernon Davis again. This ti, the connection was successful, but after Vernon caught the four-yard pass on the right side near the midline, he was tackled by two defensive players. They worked together to bring Vernon down, and not only did he not advance, but he was also pushed back two steps.

Fortunately, Vernon's strong body resisted the first impact and he stayed in place, even if it was only for a split second. The referee still ruled it a four-yard catch.

On third and six, it seed that they hadn't even had ti to catch their breath before the San Francisco 49ers were in trouble again. This kind of scene had appeared so many tis in the second half of the ga that it beca instinctive to feel tense, as if a nightmare was about to happen again and their drive was about to co to a screeching halt.

Lu Ke could feel the fluctuating emotions of his teammates in their eyes. He couldn't see it clearly, but that sense of uncertainty was a heavy weight on his shoulders.

This ti, Lu Ke didn't panic. He looked up at the ga clock. There was one minute and thirty-nine seconds left. "We still have ti. We have enough ti to turn the situation around. Don't think about whether this is third down or fourth down. We will keep attacking. We will keep attacking relentlessly."

The score on the field was only "20-20." It was a tie. If the San Francisco 49ers ca off the field now, it would an giving the opponent the ti and space for a ga-winning play. So, as Lu Ke said, they would not give up easily. Even on fourth down, they would go for it. Even if they failed, the ti they had consud would further reduce the opponent's chances of a coback.

"We still have ti." Lu Ke repeated again. "The opponent should be the one who's anxious right now. If we get a first down now, it ans we will be in an invincible position. The worst-case scenario is overti! But I'm not interested in overti. I want to kill the ga right now!"

Clenching his fist, Lu Ke's words were forceful and determined. The toughness and resolve that erupted from within, the desire to win was unleashed without reservation. His entire being burst forth with a spirit of forging ahead and being unstoppable. The belief of that last regular season ga in the NCAA, where they made a coback from the brink of defeat, once again filled his chest and surged fiercely.

Now, Lu Ke had truly found his rhythm. The sound of his heart pounding against his chest was invigorating.

Without saying a word, just with his eyes, Lu Ke's gaze fell on his teammates one by one, clearly conveying his firm belief with his eyes. After a brief silence, he started to call the play. It was vaguely noticeable that the restless panic and tension were gradually calming down. They were focused and had no distractions.

Shotgun formation, line up, get set, snap.

Facing a crucial third and six, the San Francisco 49ers undoubtedly chose to pass. The Detroit Lions knew this, the comntators knew this, and the spectators also knew this. The question now was, how would Lu Ke complete the pass?

Holding the ball with both hands, he took a steady step back. Standing behind the shotgun formation, Lu Ke quickly created distance between himself and the offensive line, creating a vacuum for his passing observation. But the situation he saw was not good—

The Detroit Lions' defense only sent four defensive linen to rush the pocket. The other seven players—three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties—were all scattered across the field. They were clearly giving up the quarterback blitz in favor of focusing on pass defense.

The San Francisco 49ers' four receivers lined up in a classic multi-route offensive formation. There was only Michael Crabtree on the left, while Ted Ginn, Logan Newman, and Vernon Davis were all stacked on the right side.

At the snap, Crabtree on the left didn't run straight. Instead, he surprisingly chose a running route that cut to the inner right side, quickly advancing to the right along the linebacker's defensive route.

This instantly made the San Francisco 49ers' entire right wing incredibly crowded. All four receivers were stacked on the sa side, and three of them were large, heavy weapons. This was like a blender, creating a bloody storm on the field.

At the sa ti as the snap, Vernon, who was on the right side near the inside slot, made a quick, straight sprint. After five yards, he stopped, turned around, and faced Lu Ke, quickly retreating toward the right sideline. As he retreated, he raised his hand, ready to receive the pass.

On the right side, Ginn was in the middle, and Logan was on the outside. Both of them charged forward. One was light and nimble, while the other was powerful and heavy. Their different running styles created the sa drive threat.

However, neither of them ran deep. They both stopped in the area where the short and dium passes connected. Logan stood at about the eleven-yard mark, while Ginn stood at about the fourteen-yard mark. After both of them stopped, Logan cut to the inner left side, while Ginn pulled out to the outer diagonal. They crossed paths, creating a cross, and then gradually distanced themselves.

The four receivers ran four distinctly different routes in the short and dium passing areas, but this area was the hotspot. The Detroit Lions had a full six players to defend it. Only Louis Delmas was lagging behind, preparing for a sudden deep pass.

Of the six players, four were in zone coverage, and two were in man-to-man coverage, covering the four passing routes perfectly.

There was no open space! There was absolutely no open space in his line of sight!

What was even worse was that just as Lu Ke was starting to look for Marcus, trying to complete a short pass, he discovered that the opponent had only used four players to blitz, but the San Francisco 49ers' pocket was slowly shrinking.

Lu Ke imdiately realized that he had taken too long to observe. One second, two seconds, three seconds... The ticking of the clock put the offensive line in a clumsy and passive state.

There was no ti for regret. At that mont, the pocket was broken.

It wasn't a complete breakthrough, but the defensive linen were pushing the offensive linen, and with a "pushing the bull across the mountain" move, they were quickly rushing toward Lu Ke. Chilo Rachal and Anthony Davis, who were being pushed back, seed to be unable to hold on any longer. The defensive players were flailing their arms at Lu Ke, with the possibility of a breakthrough at any mont.

In this crisis, Lu Ke had no choice but to hold the ball and run out of the pocket.

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