"London, London, attacking London!"
With fifteen, then fourteen seconds left on the play clock, and the time still ticking down, Lu Ke took a few large steps forward at a crucial moment to change the play. Surprisingly, the San Francisco 49ers' offensive players didn't move from their positions, as if they hadn't heard Lu Ke's new play call at all.
The noise in the stadium was still everywhere, floating from side to side. But Lu Ke seemed unaffected, methodically repeating the play call. After giving the instructions to every "mannequin," he stepped back and stood in a shotgun formation. But it wasn't a standard shotgun formation.
That was because Marcus Lynch was still in his original pistol formation position. So, Lynch stood four yards diagonally to the right of the center, and Lu Ke stood seven yards directly behind the center. This formation was a bit ambiguous. After the snap, would the center pass the ball to Lynch or to Lu Ke? If it was Lu Ke, would it be a pass or a run?
Could this be another trick play?
In just three seconds, countless thoughts flooded the minds of every defensive player and every commentator. But the San Francisco 49ers' offense didn't give anyone more time to think. After Lu Ke stabilized his stance, he announced the snap without any fanfare.
"Hut!"
Lu Ke smoothly received the football. Without any pause, he followed the entire offensive line as it moved two steps to the right. He raised his arm and made a passing motion. In just a fraction of a second, the defensive line had just started to move, and the "bang, bang, bang" of the collisions had just begun. There was no time to break through the pocket, and Lu Ke had already completed his passing motion.
Damn it!
This was the thought in the mind of every Bengals defensive player.
At this point, on their left side, the 49ers' right, there were three players stacked up: Kyle Williams, Logan Newman, and Ted Ginn. Two wide receivers and one tight end. This was the strong side of the strong side. Not only that, but Marcus Lynch also started sprinting toward this side.
In other words, there were a total of four receivers on the right side. Because Lu Ke's motion was so fast, there were too many passing options. One player would receive the ball, and the other three would be a distraction. This was a short-pass play for a tough drive that was almost impossible to fail. Correspondingly, there weren't many options for the Bengals' defensive players. They could only shout and start covering their left side.
Williams ran a straight-line route, Lynch ran an outside route, Ginn ran an inside route, and Newman ran alongside Williams. The two of them ran forward about five yards, then split to the left and right. At the same time, they stopped and turned sharply. Four different routes opened up, and the Bengals' defensive players couldn't cover them one-on-one. They could only use zone coverage.
Atkins was clashing with the offensive line, but his peripheral vision caught Lu Ke's passing motion. He hesitated for a moment: should he cover or should he continue to rush?
It was in that split second of thought that Atkins saw Lu Ke raise his arm to pass. It wasn't to the right, but to the left!
"Damn it!" Atkins only had time to curse. The Bengals' entire defense was heavily tilted to the right side. On the left, there was only one cornerback and one safety defending. The holes in the field were countless.
His first reaction was to cover, but Atkins's center of gravity and body couldn't keep up with the speed of his thoughts. His clumsy body lost its balance and he fell to the ground. He could only watch helplessly as the football flew over his head, and he secretly prayed that the defensive players on the other side would cover in time.
Wait, it wasn't Michael Crabtree! It wasn't Crabtree, the only wide receiver on the 49ers' left side! Who was the receiver?
"Hut! Standing in the shotgun formation, Lu Ke didn't drop back at all. He raised his arm and was ready to pass. The 49ers had four receivers stacked on the right side. The Bengals were in a panic. Newman! Logan Newman was clearly the main focus of the defense. There were three players in his area, but... it's not the right side, it's the left side! It's not Newman, it's Ginn! Wait, what happened, what exactly happened?"
"Ted Ginn suddenly appeared and smoothly caught the football near the middle of the field on the left side. This was a five-yard short pass. Even with a fake move, Lu Ke's release time was only 2.11 seconds. My God, that's so fast. The Bengals had no time to react. What's even worse is that there are no defensive players around Ginn!"
"Ginn is driving the ball forward, 20 yards, 15 yards, 10 yards! My God! Jeromy Miles saved the Bengals! Safety Jeromy Miles, number 45, tackled Ted Ginn on the six-yard line, ending the drive and keeping the 49ers' touchdown a mystery."
Everything happened so fast that the broadcast booth couldn't even react. Kirk only had time to describe everything that happened on the field. The details were just a blur, and then he saw the result: the San Francisco 49ers had advanced to the opponent's six-yard line, officially entering the red zone.
"Ho ho, let's watch the replay." Kirk couldn't help but shake his head, full of praise and surprise. "After the snap, everyone's attention was on the right side. From the receivers to the quarterback, the entire offensive arsenal was on the right side. But in the chaos on the right, Ginn ran a basic 90-degree turn route, rushing three yards forward, and after crossing the defensive line, he made a straight inside cut and ran horizontally."
"No one noticed Ginn's run. To be more precise, Ginn's entire run was very fast. He moved horizontally for about six to seven yards, and then Lu Ke officially passed the ball. The speed of the tactical change of the pass was very fast and dazzling. The five offensive options were full of infinite possibilities, truly maximizing the advantages of the shotgun formation."
Kirk used his pen to draw Ginn's running route on the screen, explaining in detail the deceptive and confusing nature of this drive and vividly illustrating the phrase "bold and meticulous."
The "bold" part was choosing the relatively empty and weak left side and passing the ball over the heads of the defensive players, like dancing on a tightrope. The "meticulous" part was setting up a large number of potential receivers on the right side. Even if Ginn's running route was blocked, Lu Ke could have still passed the ball to Lynch, and Lynch could have still gotten a first down by running out of bounds after catching the ball.
Even more importantly, Lu Ke had a trump card.
"Crabtree!" Teddy added. "You all overlooked Crabtree's role. He contained the only cornerback on that side for the Bengals, and after Ginn made the catch, he immediately blocked the cornerback's cover, creating an opportunity for Ginn to advance. There was almost no one left to cover him. If Miles hadn't been paying attention, this would have been a touchdown drive."
"Brilliant, today's game is truly brilliant!" Kirk's sigh and Teddy's exclamation echoed each other.
In the first two games, Ted Ginn had successfully made a few catches, but his overall performance was not ideal, and his form was mediocre. He was gradually falling behind in the competition for a wide receiver spot. But the success of this pass truly gave Ginn a huge boost.
However, Ginn didn't get carried away. The drive was not over yet. He clenched his fist tightly and quickly turned around to return to the huddle.
Looking over, Ginn could see Lu Ke's focused and intense eyes, completely unfazed. A faint smell of blood wafted from under his nose, full of a desire for victory and a determination to win. This also caused Ginn's adrenaline to start rising.
Without any delay, the play was called in less than fifteen seconds, and the players lined up again.
Ginn glanced at the defensive players. He could smell their fear. Even though the defense had played so well today, the 49ers had still entered the red zone and were within striking distance of a touchdown. The pace of the drive was not only fast but also powerful. He could feel the defense's panic and fear.
This was good.
"Hut!"
Without any hesitation, Ginn, who was still on the right side, put his head down and sprinted straight ahead. There were no turns, no pauses, and he ran in a straight line without stopping. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the defensive players next to him.
They had to watch. They had to watch the players' running positions, the quarterback's passing motion, and the running back's catching motion. So, their reaction was a split second slower. It was in this split second of hesitation that Ginn's speed reached its maximum. He passed one player, sped up again, passed two players, sped up again, and passed three players.
He rushed into the end zone. Ginn immediately saw the safety in the corner come over to cover, but he slammed on the brakes and, unexpectedly, ran toward the sideline of the end zone.
The safety was coming at him. Ginn actively went to meet him, and just when it looked like the two were about to collide, Ginn got out of the way with a simple sidestep. The tactical arrangement of the running route and the catch point became perfectly clear in his mind. He used this split-second advantage to nimbly and wonderfully avoid the other person's collision path.
He took two more steps forward, stopped at the edge of the end zone, tightened his muscles, and turned his body sharply. Then, in his line of sight, he saw the football spinning at high speed, flying toward his chest.
In his line of sight, he could see the panicked expressions of all the defensive players in the red zone. At least three people were rushing over, trying to cover him, but it was too late.
All Ginn had to do was raise his hands, make a catching motion in front of his chest, and the football landed steadily between his hands. The catch was a success, and he didn't move an inch.
The next moment, Ginn heard the referee's whistle. "Beep." He then raised his hands high in the air. "Touchdown!"
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