"Ladies and gentlemen, and to our viewers who have just tuned in, welcome to Fox Sports. We are now watching Week 3 of the NFL regular season, the first away game of the season for the San Francisco 49ers, as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. I'm Kirk Charleston, and my partner, Teddy Williams, and I will be bringing you the commentary for this game."
After two weeks of adjusting and warming up, Kirk had gradually gotten used to the rhythm of television, and his words began to flow smoothly.
"The biggest highlight of this game is undoubtedly the showdown between the two rookie quarterbacks, Lu Ke and Andy Dalton." After a brief introduction, Kirk immediately got to the point. "Just now, Dalton led his team on their first offensive drive. Teddy, what are your thoughts?"
"Dalton definitely showed a good feel for passing, with four successful passes out of six attempts, supported by two runs. The balance and flow of the entire offense were excellent," Teddy's commentary was also fluid and fast. "However, this is Dalton's first time playing at home, and you can tell he's a little nervous. The two failed passes were way off, and the receivers had no chance of catching the ball. Although they made it past midfield, they weren't able to score. Next, we'll have to see how Dalton adjusts his state. Performing in front of the home fans is definitely a lot of pressure."
"I agree. On the other hand, playing on the road is also a severe test. This is Lu Ke's first away game of his career, and for him, the challenge is probably even greater than for Dalton," Kirk took over the conversation and quickly commented. "However, for the league, every game this quarterback plays is making history. So, let's see how this undrafted rookie performs today."
As they spoke, the San Francisco 49ers' offense officially took the field. Kirk and Teddy's cooperation was also getting better. They worked together to quickly introduce the starting players of the offense and then got into the game. But, in a flash, the game was "interrupted."
"Oh! That sack was too fast and too vicious. Lu Ke had no chance, almost no chance at all," Teddy frowned, as if he was the one who had just been sacked, feeling the pain. "Let's watch the replay again."
"After the snap, the Cincinnati Bengals showed their powerful aggression, surprisingly loosening up their deep-pass defense and putting a lot of players into the blitz. The charge of seven players completely tore through the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line," Kirk took over the commentary and drew a yellow circle on the screen. "It's not just the numerical advantage, but also the tactical mismatch. The Bengals' defensive line had a definite advantage. Right here!"
Kirk pointed to the yellow circle, indicating the blind side to Lu Ke's left. "The concentrated breakthrough of three players overwhelmed the 49ers' offensive line. They only had time to block one. Of the remaining two players, one went around the offensive line and rushed from the outside, while the other went through a gap in the pocket and made the sack directly."
Teddy couldn't help but exclaim, "On this defensive play, the Bengals completely caught the 49ers off guard with a blitzkrieg-style attack. Let's look at the time... Wow, only 2.21 seconds. The Bengals only took 2.21 seconds to completely break through the offensive line and make the sack. It was fast, vicious, and aggressive, and it didn't give the opposing quarterback much time to observe or react. The Bengals showed a level of defensive intensity that they didn't have in their previous two games."
"Yes, this is truly a surprise," Kirk agreed. "In the last two games, the Bengals gave up 563 yards and 41 points. The defense's performance was not strong enough. But today, in front of the home crowd, they showed a completely new look. This game will be incredibly tough for the San Francisco 49ers' young offense."
In the first defensive drive of the home game, the Cincinnati Bengals showed their powerful "aggression."
In football, not only does the offense have a strong attack, but the defense and special teams also have an aggressive attack—creating fumbles, creating interceptions, and creating turnovers and variables in the game. In addition to the offensive players, other players can also show a fierce aggression, controlling the game and getting points.
Also, unlike in soccer, where a defender's offensive mindset can easily give the opponent an opportunity, football does not have this problem. Defensive players can "attack" to their heart's content.
Some teams' defenses even score more than their offenses. This is not normal or reasonable, but it is a reality.
In the last drive, the Cincinnati Bengals showed their "aggression," successfully getting the first sack of the game with the powerful momentum of a tiger descending from the mountains.
The players piled on top of him gradually moved away. Lu Ke stood up again, gasping for air. There was a faint pain in his right shoulder. The sack itself wasn't vicious, but the force of the fall was too strong, and he could feel a clear pain in his shoulder.
"Bambi, are you okay?" Anthony Davis and Joe Staley quickly came up to him, looking apologetic. They were the left tackle and left guard, responsible for protecting Lu Ke's blind side. The pocket was completely torn open, and the quarterback was sacked directly, which was their responsibility.
Lu Ke waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. The frustration and anger had subsided. He had realized his nervousness and his distraction. The effects of the away game were everywhere, and the sack was a direct result of that.
Many times, nervousness cannot be controlled. Even the four elite quarterbacks get nervous on the Super Bowl stage. The best way to deal with nervousness is not to relieve it but to fully immerse yourself in the game, focus, and turn it into motivation.
Lu Ke forced himself to calm down. His eyes quickly scanned the field and then caught sight of the Bengals' number 97.
Geno Atkins, a defensive tackle. He was a sophomore who was drafted in the fourth round, 120th overall, last year.
He had very few opportunities to play in his rookie season and had almost no outstanding plays. But this year, he became a starter on the defense, and in the first two games, he had two tackles and forced three rushed throws. It was not a brilliant performance, but he was an important part of the defense.
All the corresponding information about Atkins came to Lu Ke's mind. To prepare for a game, he had to know every aspect of his opponent, or he would be caught off guard. Although Atkins didn't have any impressive performances in the first two games, he had just gotten the first sack of his career in the first drive.
Atkins's young and energetic face was celebrating his first career sack. But after the celebration, he quickly recovered and began to adjust his breathing and movements. You could tell that his professionalism was commendable.
Lu Ke waved Davis and Staley over. "Number 97. You guys need to pay more attention," he said, indicating that he wasn't a key player to defend against for now. "His speed is average, but his strength is very strong. When defending, his offensive mindset is very strong, and he can easily create mismatches. Be careful from now on."
The support and cheers in Paul Brown Stadium were incredibly annoying. The constant noise came in waves, like a swarm of flies buzzing around his ears. It was sometimes far, sometimes near, sometimes soft, and sometimes loud. It was always unpredictable but wouldn't go away.
Lu Ke had only spoken two sentences, and his train of thought was interrupted. He looked up and scanned the stands. The stands, with at least a third of the seats empty, looked a bit shabby, but it was precisely for this reason that the cheers were even more unpredictable.
"..." Lu Ke refocused his attention and prepared to continue with the play call. But his thoughts paused for a moment, leaving a blank space, and then he remembered to call his teammates over.
"That mistake just now was on me," Lu Ke said, not avoiding responsibility. Under the influence of nervousness from playing on the road, he made a poor read of the defense, which was the root cause of the sack. Now that he had realized the problem, they had to solve it. "We need to get moving!" Lu Ke clenched his fist and quickly called the play.
Screen pass.
There were many different ways for an offense to deal with a strong pass rush. The efficiency of the professional league was immediately evident. After the first drive failed, the analysis team upstairs and the coaching staff quickly communicated and came up with a corresponding strategy, which was accurately relayed to Lu Ke through his headset: a screen pass.
The voice in his headset also further confirmed that number 97 had performed exceptionally well in the last blitz.
After lining up again, Lu Ke didn't rush to snap the ball. His eyes were on Atkins and his teammates on either side of him. His sharp, firm gaze hit them head-on. The air was filled with a thick smell of gunpowder, and you could clearly sense the imminent danger. Then, the noise and chaos in his ears began to fade away.
"Hut!"
Lu Ke shouted from the shotgun formation. At the same time, the cheers, which sounded like a roaring waterfall, poured down. The entire stadium was filled with sound, light, and a boiling atmosphere.
In the next second, Lu Ke noticed the flight path of the football.
It was too high!
Jonathan Goodwin's snap was too high. The parabola rose high, and Lu Ke had to raise his hands from his chest to catch the football above his head. In that brief moment, amid the "bang, bang, bang" sounds, the offensive line was being torn apart again. In his line of sight, he could see a large number of white jerseys rushing into a sea of black.
The San Francisco 49ers' away jerseys were white, which was the same color as the Cincinnati Bengals' home jerseys. After a discussion, the 49ers chose to wear all-black jerseys.
He stepped back, taking a quick backward step. Lu Ke's peripheral vision scanned the defensive line and the receivers like a scanner, but it was too late. The figure of number 97 swept toward him like a whirlwind!
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