The first fake pass shook Clark's balance, and he charged toward Vernon and Gay's matchup. The second fake pass completely froze Polamalu in place, like a statue. At this moment, Polamalu's experienced judgment became a liability, causing him to miss the best opportunity to provide backup defense. In terms of tactics, one wrong step led to a series of wrong steps. The Pittsburgh Steelers' proud defensive advantage finally showed a flaw.
In an instant, Polamalu saw Williams, who had reached his top speed, whooshing past him. Before he could react, his peripheral vision immediately caught Lu Ke raising his arm for the third time. This time, without any hesitation, he threw the football.
"Damn it!"
Polamalu cursed for the second time, instantly accelerating to his maximum burst of speed, and sprinted toward Williams. This was a deep pass! This was the San Francisco 49ers' first deep pass attempt of the game. Judging by Williams' sprinting direction, it should have been a 35 to 40-yard pass. This shouldn't have been a surprise, after all, Lu Ke was most proficient at deep passes. By using a tactical mismatch, Lu Ke had already gained the time and space for a deep pass and was ready to deliver a fatal blow. The most terrifying thing was that if Polamalu missed the tackle, Williams would have a clear path to the end zone and could easily score a touchdown.
So, Polamalu, who was already a half-step slow, had to speed up, and then speed up even more. He didn't dare to relax, and he stuck to his defensive position with Williams. Then, he skillfully looked up, judged the space between the football and Williams, and prepared to swat the pass away. Defending Williams was easy for Polamalu. He still had a clear advantage, as Williams couldn't be considered a top-tier receiver.
But in the next moment, Polamalu was completely stunned. What was going on? What in the world was going on?
"Pass! After two consecutive fake passes, Lu Ke finally chose to pass. The target is Kyle Williams... oh, no, it's not Williams, it's Ted Ginn! My God! It's actually Ted Ginn! Number 19 wide receiver, Ginn!"
"Ginn, who stopped and adjusted his feet after crossing the 30-yard line, was surprisingly standing in a completely open space. There wasn't a single defender around him, and the closest defender was at least ten yards away! Ginn had created a completely open zone! My God!"
"Lu Ke completed the pass. This is a 19-yard medium pass! The football's trajectory was still a bit irregular. It wasn't a perfect spiral, but with no defenders nearby, Ginn jumped up and completed the catch. Then he turned around and continued to advance!"
"Ginn! Ted Ginn is advancing with the ball! The entire Pittsburgh Steelers' defense is in chaos. Four players are coming from all directions to try to make a tackle, but the distance is too far! Ginn is still advancing. He's at top speed, and he's looking for a gap! 35 yards! 40 yards! 45 yards!"
"Clark! Clark missed the tackle! Ginn slammed on the brakes and then turned, dodging Clark's backup tackle! He's still advancing! My God! Halftime, Ted Ginn has already crossed midfield! Polamalu made the tackle. At the last minute, he gave up on Williams and came back to tackle Ginn, pinning him down at the Steelers' 46-yard line!"
"Beautiful! The San Francisco 49ers have completed their most beautiful drive since the beginning of the game today! Although Lu Ke's pass was still a bit unstable and his rhythm hadn't fully returned, the absolute tactical advantage, and the brilliant deception of the two fake passes, managed to tear a hole in their defense and successfully gain 50 yards. A full 50 yards, and they crossed midfield in one go! Beautiful!"
In the commentary booth, Gruden and Jaworski were both energized and immediately began to comment. In the first part, Lu Ke completely disrupted the Steelers' plan by using his tactical advantage. In the second part, Lu Ke even used Polamalu's eagerness to defend Williams, which caused Polamalu to lose his balance and gave Ginn more space to advance.
An unexpected medium pass ultimately gained 50 yards, and they crossed midfield in one go. It was truly amazing and once again showed the brilliance and excitement of a quarterback's tactical awareness!
"Ahhhhh!" The entire Candlestick Park erupted. After being suppressed for two and a half quarters, they finally saw a successful drive. They let out the pent-up frustration in their chests with a sense of exhilaration, and then the cheers connected again, "Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!"
This was what they had hoped for. This was what they had been waiting for. This was what they needed.
The unstoppable momentum of thunder surged again. The immense sea of red roared in their vision. The passion and enthusiasm of Candlestick Park reawakened, and they fiercely extended their sharp claws toward the visiting team!
On the field, Lu Ke was not satisfied with this. He quickly waved his hands, signaling his teammates to move forward immediately. Even to Ginn, Lu Ke only gave a thumbs-up as a sign of approval, and that was all.
The team's current disadvantage was too great, and they were also racing against time. A successful drive was not enough. They needed to score. They needed a touchdown!
Under Lu Ke's leadership, the San Francisco 49ers' offense quickly lined up, and the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense also had to compose themselves and follow suit. In an instant, the entire Candlestick Park fell silent again. You could even hear a "shush," a sign for the noises to completely calm down.
Then, amidst the faint restlessness, Lu Ke clearly and accurately relayed the tactics. Without any hesitation, he decisively called for the snap. It was still a 2x2 formation in the pistol formation, and even the positions of the two wide receivers, two tight ends, and one running back didn't change at all. But after the snap, all the running routes were different. The four players spread out all over the field like flowers, disrupting the Steelers' defensive formation for the second time in a row.
This time, there was no fake handoff. Lu Ke directly took a quick step back, and after swapping positions with Marcus, he raised his chin to observe the defensive positions on the field. One second, two seconds, and in the next moment, he had already raised his hand and thrown the football. His release was incredibly fast and didn't even give the defense any time to breathe. So, his passing target was...
"Vernon Davis! Vernon Davis, who is in a one-on-one matchup with William Gay! This is a rainbow pass! A pass of about 12 yards! Oh, my God, it's not Vernon, it's Ted Ginn! My God! My God! It's Ginn! It's actually Ted Ginn! Ginn caught the football! He successfully caught the football!"
"Ginn is advancing quickly along the sideline. Davis pushed away Gay, who was trying to provide backup coverage. Ginn! Ted Ginn! 30 yards, 25 yards, 20 yards... Clark! Clark is providing backup coverage. He arrived in time and pushed Ginn out of bounds, stopping this drive at the 19-yard line!"
"My God, who would have thought that the target of this pass would be Ted Ginn? A simple and clear tactic once again tore apart the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense! Beautiful! It's truly beautiful! Let's rewatch the replay now. How did this tactic deceive the Steelers' secondary defense?"
After Lu Ke's snap count, Vernon and Ginn on the left side both pulled toward the left sideline. The starting points of the two were about five or six yards apart. After starting, they ran in a 45-degree angle to the left like parallel lines, like a drawn sword pointing at the sideline.
Vernon was on the inside. His speed was slightly slower, and William Gay, who was in a one-on-one matchup, immediately stuck to him. But Vernon didn't slow down. He relentlessly ran toward the sideline, constantly colliding with Gay using his body advantage and disrupting Gay's defensive balance.
Ginn was on the outside. His speed was faster, but he was also farther from the sideline. The outside linebacker, Lamar Woodley, suddenly gave up on putting pressure on the offensive line and sprinted toward Ginn. Woodley's short-range burst of speed was slightly inferior, but he still blocked Ginn's position and constantly compressed Ginn's running route.
The outside linebacker's pull-out meant that the inside linebacker would inevitably move forward to put more pressure on the offensive line. But standing in the pocket, Lu Ke almost ignored the potential blitz. He raised his hand and threw the football. Before the pressure from the front line, which was a combination of the inside linebacker and the defensive linemen, could reach him, he had already thrown the football.
It wasn't a bullet pass but a rainbow pass. From the rising arc and the direction of the pass, it was clear that Vernon was the target. What's more, Vernon's advantage over Gay was clearly greater than Ginn's and Woodley's matchup. You could see that Vernon had already gained the advantage in size and positioning, and then Woodley slightly adjusted his position. He didn't give up on Ginn, but his attention began to lean toward Vernon. After Vernon completed the catch, he could make a backup tackle at any time.
After the football quickly fell, it looked like Vernon was jumping up to make the catch, but then the arc of the football was too high. It whooshed past Vernon's hands and went far, falling toward a deeper position.
Ted Ginn was standing five yards behind Vernon, raised his hands, completed the catch, quickly turned, and started running again. Before Woodley could react, he was already gone. If Clark hadn't had a good nose for the ball and provided backup coverage in time, Ginn would have probably broken into the end zone.
Nevertheless, the San Francisco 49ers still successfully reached the 19-yard line. The previous pass was a 12-yard medium pass, which once again tore apart the Steelers' defense. The pass on the previous drive was a 19-yard medium pass. Could this be the Steelers' weakness?
But things shouldn't be that simple!
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