On the field, the two teams stood on the 49ers' 48-yard line, facing each other. Their firm and determined gazes radiated an unyielding aura. This was a life-or-death battle with no turning back!

After taking off his down jacket, Lu Ke could still feel goosebumps on his skin, but his body temperature hadn't dropped as noticeably. A warmth deep in his core allowed him to easily concentrate, temporarily forgetting the effects of the weather and his physical discomfort. He wasn't at his best, but he was recovering. This was a good thing.

Lu Ke stared at the opposing defense, fully concentrating on studying their formation. The Pittsburgh Steelers had changed their formation. Just looking at the defensive formation, the two safeties had only retreated four to five yards, and the two cornerbacks had only moved in two to three yards. It was like a ladder that had slightly moved its two support points closer to the center. Other than that, there were no more changes.

But Lu Ke could read more differences. This meant that the safeties, cornerbacks, and linebackers' defensive positions were slightly more spread out, providing more comprehensive protection for the medium and even deep pass areas. In comparison, the dense defense in the short-pass area was slightly relaxed.

Everything was developing according to Lu Ke's expectations. The Steelers' defense had spread out a bit, and there was finally some breathing room between the layers of their tight defense, like a compressed spring that had been slightly released. The steel curtain was no longer airtight. But was it really that simple? Was the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense really that simple?

Judging by their eyes alone, the group of old foxes standing opposite him showed no flaws, making it difficult to predict their intentions. Lu Ke decided to test the waters.

Taking a step forward, Lu Ke stood behind the center and began to loudly change the play. Following his commands, the 49ers' offensive formation changed. Vernon Davis, who was standing on the left, took a series of small steps and crossed behind Lu Ke and Marcus Lynch, arriving on the right. This created a multiple-route offensive formation. On the left, there was only Ted Ginn. On the right, there was a concentration of two tight ends, Vernon Davis and Logan Newman, plus Kyle Williams.

Not only that, but after changing the play, Lu Ke took a series of steps back and moved away from Marcus. The pistol formation became a shotgun formation. Marcus was now in the slot receiver position on the front left, but he wasn't fully forward. He was in an in-between slot position, where he could still turn at any time and complete a handoff with Lu Ke to start a running play.

He could clearly see Clark, who was originally on the left, following Vernon's run and coming to the right. Obviously, this was a man-to-man defense. Furthermore, safety Clark and cornerback Gay had swapped positions, because in the matchup between Gay and Vernon, the latter could easily gain the upper hand. Now the coverage had changed. Clark was covering Vernon and Gay was covering Ginn, trying to reverse the matchup disadvantage.

If that was all there was to it, then Lu Ke's tactical change wasn't brilliant; it was just a basic change. But Marcus Lynch had also moved at the same time, which revealed more. In a tactical change, when a defensive player moves with a receiver, it's a man-to-man defense. The opposite is a zone defense. Likewise, when a defensive player moves with a running back, it's a zone defense. The opposite is a man-to-man defense.

During Vernon and Marcus's movement just now, Clark changed positions, but the inside linebacker responsible for covering Marcus didn't move. This fully confirmed that the Steelers' plan was to play man-to-man defense across the board. So, who was covering Marcus, a potential receiving option? Based on the entire defensive formation, the only one who could be defending Marcus was outside linebacker Woodley. In other words, when Lu Ke snapped the ball, his attention only needed to be on the other outside linebacker, James Harrison. That would be enough.

If Harrison took a step back and started to help with coverage, it would mean that the Steelers' tactics had indeed changed and that they had strengthened their coverage of the medium pass area. But if Harrison continued to step forward or lingered in the short-pass area, then the Steelers' tactical intention was still to continue with their previous plan, and the so-called change in formation was just a smokescreen.

By only focusing on one player and observing his movement, Lu Ke could accurately grasp the overall trend of the play, and even simulate the movements of the linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties across the entire field in his mind, and then choose the most suitable offensive play. The offense already had a half-step lead in tactical planning. Now, Lu Ke had gained another half-step lead through his own adjustments, giving the 49ers a one-step advantage. It seemed that the chicken soup was effective. After his body temperature gradually warmed up, his mind began to clear.

After reading the defense, Lu Ke stood up straight and shouted, "Logan!"

At this moment, the entire Candlestick Park was incredibly quiet. Lu Ke's shout spread without any difficulty, but everyone had a question mark on their heads: Was there some kind of secret signal between Lu Ke and Logan? But such an obvious signal would clearly tell the opponent that Logan had a special task on this play. Was it a good idea to expose their tactics like this? Wait, or was it a smokescreen?

But Lu Ke didn't leave any time for them to think. After bending down, he immediately called for the snap. Jonathan Goodwin snapped the ball to Lu Ke. Lu Ke caught the ball with both hands, his peripheral vision locked onto Harrison. He immediately noticed Harrison's forward-moving steps. The blitzing action not only didn't subside but became more ferocious and faster.

Blitz! Sure enough, the change in the defensive formation was a feint. The Pittsburgh Steelers hadn't changed their defensive tactics. The pressure from the front line came crashing down like a waterfall. Without any further observation, Lu Ke could confirm that the Steelers' entire defensive formation would quickly contract even further, squeezing all the pressure onto the short-pass area like thunder. At this point, if Lu Ke chose to throw a short pass or run the ball, he would definitely fall into the Steelers' trap, and they would be able to deliver a heavy blow to the 49ers' offense.

So, Lu Ke didn't choose to take a step back. Standing in the shotgun formation, he did the opposite and started to step forward. One step, two steps, three steps. His forward movement was very decisive and resolute. He actively walked into the rapidly contracting pocket. Then, he could see in his peripheral vision that Woodley and Harrison were quickly forming a circle around him from the outside. The entire pocket had become a circle. Woodley had abandoned defending Marcus. The inside linebacker, James Farrior, was now covering him, and he himself had joined Harrison in executing the blitz to the end. In an instant, the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line was in a precarious and hopeless situation.

Lu Ke's step forward avoided the potential sack and at the same time, he adjusted his steps. He decisively completed the actions of raising his hand, winding up, swinging his arm, and delivering the ball. The entire sequence of stepping forward, adjusting, and passing was as smooth as flowing water. After the snap, it was completed in one go without any pause. The football was released in an instant. Before the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense could completely break through the offensive line to execute the sack, the ball had already left the tight fortress, flying toward the receiver and drawing a beautiful rainbow arc in the sky.

In a rapidly changing game, having a one-step advantage is enough to create a fatal and absolute advantage. So, who was Lu Ke's target?

After the snap, the two wide receivers, two tight ends, and one running back, like five arrows, left the bowstring at the same time and flew away. Then you could see the five receivers running to different positions. Marcus and Vernon were constantly adjusting their steps in the short pass area. The other three players all ran toward the deeper area. After entering the medium pass area, Logan and Williams did a cross-run. Logan moved quickly toward the outside of the sideline, while Williams cut into the middle. Only Ginn was still running with his head down, but his running route continued to pull toward the inside of the field.

In a flash, Ginn and Williams crossed paths. Suddenly, Ginn accelerated again, cutting quickly to the right side of the field. He didn't continue to push into the deep area but returned to the medium pass area. Then, he could see that Logan also slammed on the brakes and ran toward Ginn again.

At this moment, a rainbow pass came falling toward Ginn and Logan's position. Ginn or Logan? Logan or Ginn?

On the field, Polamalu was trying to block Logan, Clark was giving up on helping to cover Marcus and shifting his weight to run over, and Gay had been pulled a step and a half away by Ginn's absolute speed. He was constantly using his hands to interfere with Ginn's running and even started grabbing Ginn's jersey at the crucial moment.

Without any warning, Logan crouched down, dodged Polamalu, and ran into Gay. With a cross and a twist, you could see Ginn leaping high, like a monkey picking a star, grabbing the football into his arms. He landed nimbly and ignored Polamalu and Clark, who were trying to provide backup coverage. He pulled horizontally, advancing quickly along the sideline.

But Polamalu's focus was still high. He caught up to Ginn after five yards and pushed him out of bounds, ending the drive. A 13-yard rainbow pass to the right. After completing the catch, he advanced another five yards. The San Francisco 49ers had once again gotten a first down and were now on the Steelers' 34-yard line!

A battle of wits and courage. The 49ers won!

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