The fourth quarter began, the final, suffocating moments of the game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who were on the field first, finally regained their offensive rhythm. It was Antonio Brown again. This game seemed destined to be his breakout performance. The sophomore receiver's hands were truly amazing in tight coverage, and his ability to advance after the catch was even more impressive. It wasn't that the San Francisco 49ers' defense was lacking. On the contrary, Antonio Brown seemed to have entered a godly state. He even managed to single-handedly grab a pass from Ben Roethlisberger that was too high and too far away while being double-teamed by three defenders, completing a crucial third-and-eight conversion for his team and successfully entering the red zone. This brilliant performance drew gasps from the commentary booth.

After entering the red zone, facing the 49ers' dense defense, the Steelers' offense still came up short. A run play in a critical situation was stopped at the line of scrimmage, failing to convert on third and two. In the end, they chose the safer field goal option, scoring another three points to make the score 14-27.

Clearly, for the Steelers now, every time they scored, they got closer to victory. At the same time, every first down they got consumed more game time. Their strategy became clearer and more defined: focus on control, and they could steadily secure the win.

But the 49ers had to go for broke.

The San Francisco 49ers, who came back on the field, were not able to continue their good fortune from the previous two drives this time. With six yellow flags, the offense stumbled. Three of the penalties were on the offense, which cost them yards and made it even more difficult to advance. Both sides were refusing to give an inch. In the end, Lu Ke advanced to the opponent's 23-yard line but was unfortunately three-and-out. David Akers came out and kicked the 49ers' first field goal of the game. The score became 17-27, still a ten-point difference. But the time consumed in this back-and-forth was slowly eroding the 49ers' hope of winning. They didn't have much time left.

If the first turning point of the game was Lu Ke's hypothermia, which led to their defeat in the first half, then the next moment was very likely to become the second turning point of the game. With six minutes and forty-eight seconds left in the game, the 49ers' number 53 linebacker, NaVorro Bowman, tore through the opponent's offensive line, entered the pocket, sacked Roethlisberger, and caused a fumble. Aldon Smith, who came running in, recovered the fumble, successfully creating a turnover and giving the 49ers a chance to start their drive at the opponent's 47-yard line. That wasn't all. After Roethlisberger was sacked and fell to the ground, his ankle seemed to be affected. He left the field with the help of his teammates. The specific situation would need to be checked by the team doctor.

Without a doubt, this was a crucial turnover. But whether the San Francisco 49ers could capitalize on this turning point and maximize their benefits to truly turn the tide of the game depended on Lu Ke and the offense. Otherwise, this could also become the turning point where the opponent completely crushed the 49ers' offense. Facing the formidable Steelers' defense, it was once again a decisive moment.

Although the game was getting more and more tense, and the later it got in the fourth quarter, the less room the 49ers had to catch up or even take the lead, what was more important was that the opponent's defense still hadn't collapsed. They maintained a strong and focused attitude. But when Lu Ke came back on the field, he remained absolutely calm and completed the play arrangements in an orderly manner.

Then, both teams quickly lined up. On the San Francisco 49ers' side, they boldly lined up in a shotgun formation with a multiple-route offense. Lu Ke stood seven yards away from the center, clearing the backfield. Two wide receivers, two tight ends, and a running back were all on the field. It seemed they had made up their minds that this was going to be a passing play, showing absolute confidence and power in their strength.

The left side was heavily stacked with Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Ted Ginn. It wasn't Kyle Williams, but Crabtree. This meant that a tight end plus a big receiver and a fast receiver created a tactical combination with infinite possibilities. The right side was relatively lighter with Logan Newman and Marcus Lynch. Among them, Lynch was in the slot receiver position, while Logan was unusually standing on the outside near the sideline, matching up with the cornerback.

On the Pittsburgh Steelers' side, they lined up in a solid and steady standard defensive formation. This time, they chose a zone defense because when Marcus moved his position, the two inside linebackers also swapped positions, which meant that James Farrior was the one covering Marcus.

Although it was a zone defense, the Steelers still had to adjust to the 49ers' tactical formation. Their right side was stacked with four players: William Gay, LaMarr Woodley, Ryan Clark, and Troy Polamalu. Polamalu's position was a bit more toward the middle, and the other inside linebacker, Larry Foote, was a bit more toward the right after swapping positions. On the Steelers' left side, Ike Taylor was matched up with Logan Newman, Farrior with Marcus, and the always-dangerous outside linebacker, James Harrison, was also there.

Candlestick Park was silent. On the field, everything was calm. You couldn't see anything unusual. It was quiet and peaceful. Then, Lu Ke's steady voice called out, "Attack!"

The moment the ball was snapped, the four receivers on the left and right sides all started at the same time and sprinted according to their planned running routes. But to everyone's surprise, Marcus Lynch didn't go forward. He went backward. He turned around and, in a few big steps, came to Lu Ke's side, ready to catch the ball. Was this a running play? Not a passing play? Was the shotgun formation a smokescreen?

The Pittsburgh Steelers had prepared for this situation early on. On the stacked side, inside linebacker Foote didn't rush forward. He did a cross-swap with Woodley, and Foote began to retreat quickly, joining the ranks of the zone defense. Woodley, on the other hand, charged forward, trying to break through the offensive line's defense and sack the quarterback.

On the relatively weaker side, Farrior moved left and right on his straight line, his eyes fixed on Marcus. No matter if this running back was going to run or catch, his job was to cut off all of Marcus's running routes. But the problem was that Marcus didn't run out of the pocket, so Farrior had no way to get to him. There was an offensive line and a defensive line between them, so unless the pocket was broken, Farrior and Marcus were like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl at opposite ends of the Magpie Bridge.

Then, Farrior realized something was wrong. Three defensive linemen against five offensive linemen. The numerical disadvantage meant that the Steelers were still putting on pressure, not blitzing, but the pressure wasn't sharp enough. On the right side, the outermost Adam Snyder actually took the time to block Woodley. On the left side, Joe Staley didn't have time to step back and was broken through by Harrison.

Harrison and Woodley were preparing to once again go for a sack. Even if they couldn't sack him, they could at least make Lu Ke dance around in the pocket. Now, Woodley was blocked, and although Harrison had broken through, Farrior watched as Marcus came up and engaged with Harrison.

"Damn it!"

Lu Ke quickly adjusted his steps by retreating. A quick scan with his eyes allowed him to take in the entire situation on the field. The left side was indeed the hot zone. The three receivers had successfully tied up four defenders, but Polamalu was still moving quickly in the central area and was waiting for a chance to rush forward. Lu Ke knew his judgment was correct.

Simply put, the Steelers' judgment was that the 49ers would choose a short pass or a run, so they chose to blitz. Woodley and Harrison, along with the three defensive linemen, were blitzing, and they used an inside linebacker, Farrior, to hold back Marcus. Finally, they used a zone defense to block all potential passing options. At the same time, Polamalu was waiting for a chance to go forward, either to help with coverage in the short-pass area or to provide backup for Marcus. In his defensive read, Lu Ke caught the change in Woodley and Foote's positions. The center of gravity of the two of them showed an unnatural shift, so Lu Ke boldly made a judgment and played along, calling Marcus back, which created a numerical advantage.

Up front, six offensive players were against six defensive players. On the left side, three offensive players were against four defensive players. In the matchup between the offensive and defensive lines, Marcus was on Harrison, which nullified Farrior. This created a five-on-four numerical advantage on the offensive line, building an impenetrable pocket. As for Harrison, who was very strong individually, Lu Ke wasn't worried. Marcus only needed to block him for an instant.

Because a gap had already formed. On the right side, there was one offensive player against one defensive player. In other words, it was Logan Newman against Ike Taylor. But Lu Ke didn't expose his passing intention right away. He had to shake Polamalu's center of gravity to create more favorable conditions for Logan's catch. This wasn't a short pass or a medium pass. It was a deep pass.

From the very first moment of the play, Lu Ke had decided on a deep pass. Everyone guessed that the 49ers would probably play it safe. The Steelers even thought they would choose a running play, a steady advance from midfield, so as not to waste this excellent starting position. The truth was, Lu Ke didn't intend to waste it. It's just that his plan was bolder and crazier.

A fake pass, two fake releases, then a step forward, avoiding Harrison who was rushing in after getting past Marcus. He passed the ball, and it was out of his hand!

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