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It was second down and one yard to go.
I stood behind center Jonathan Goodwin, my eyes fixed on the Bengals' defense. My pupils narrowed slightly. I could smell my opponents' panic, just as a dog can smell a human's fear. It was an intuition, an indefinable intuition.
The urgency of the ticking clock was building pressure. I could even hear the ticking of a second hand. The 49ers' passing and running games had both opened up, and the different combinations were further increasing the offense's threat.
In today's strong showdown of offense and defense, of a spear and a shield, the 49ers' offense had the upper hand, so the Bengals' defense was starting to get flustered at a critical moment.
My eyes fell on Geno Atkins. Atkins, who had played an outstanding game today, was still giving his all, without any slack or retreat, and was even more aggressive than before.
A blitz? A thought flashed through my mind. Can I create another false start with a fake snap?
"Kendall, have Marcus come in." I turned around, patted Kendall Hunter on the shoulder, and signaled to him in a low voice. Kendall didn't say much. He nodded in affirmation and left the field. At the same time, I communicated with Jim through my headset, and the offense sent Marcus Lynch in again.
Lynch, not knowing why, ran over quickly. I ignored him for now and first communicated with my teammates who were already lined up. I changed the play, then stepped back, gave Lynch a look, and stood in the pistol formation.
Time was limited, and there was no further communication. However, Lynch had heard the play I called, and with our consistent chemistry, he also understood my plan. Then, Lynch stood side-by-side with me in the pistol formation, about four yards apart.
Faced with a dazzling change in tactics, the Bengals' defense was truly struggling. Was this a pass or a run? It was second and one, but they were changing the play on the fly. What was their plan? Was I planning another super long pass? Or was I going to run with the ball myself unexpectedly?
Second and one already had countless possibilities. Now, I was changing the play further, which really... made them want to curse! But the defensive captain didn't change the defensive instructions, which meant their defensive formation remained the same.
Atkins's muscles tightened slightly. He tried his best to get rid of all distractions. The more he thought about those thoughts, the more fear and cowardice surged. He had to stay focused, empty his mind, and determine his target. Only then could he complete his defensive task more efficiently.
Standing in the pocket, I slowly, slowly bent down, made a catching gesture with my hands, and without saying anything, I lifted my right foot. After a half-second delay, I shouted, "Hike!"
For the offense, the quarterback's snap count is the signal to start. But during a game, fans are often so excited that they create an unimaginable amount of noise, especially in an away game. A quarterback's snap count can easily be drowned out, and if an offensive lineman gets distracted for a second, it can lead to a communication breakdown.
To avoid such a simple mistake, the center bends down at the snap and uses his feet to catch the quarterback's lifting of their foot, which means: the quarterback is ready to snap the ball. The center then focuses on listening for the snap count. In turn, the defensive linemen only need to watch the center's preparation to know that they must focus.
Generally, quarterbacks use the side of their dominant hand to lift their foot.
After lifting my foot, I deliberately delayed for a half-second. This small half-second made the Bengals' players' muscles tense up even more, keeping them on high alert. Then, I announced the snap. There was no fancy snap count. It was a simple and direct snap. The sudden tension and sudden release often create an unexpected timing difference in a game.
After Jonathan Goodwin snapped the ball, I took a big step back and made a passing motion again. But in the next second, Marcus Lynch ran diagonally across in front of me from right to left. At the moment our paths crossed, I handed the football off to Lynch. Then, I bent down, pretended to be running with the ball, and ran toward the right.
"Snap!" Kirk's eyes were fixed on the action on the field. "Lu Ke takes a step back, getting ready to pass! No, it's not a pass. The pass is just a fake. Then, Lynch runs up, and Lu Ke makes a handoff motion, but it's still a fake! Lu Ke pulls the football back into his arms and breaks to the right, getting ready to run with the ball himself! My God, Lu Ke is running with the ball himself! The entire Bengals' defense is in disarray. Their reaction seems to be half a beat slow!"
"Lu Ke is running, running! His footwork isn't very agile. My God, this doesn't look pretty at all. It reminds me of Peyton Manning. Running is really not their skill." Kirk couldn't help but make a little fun of him. A pocket quarterback's running skills are indeed not a sight to behold. "Wait, what's wrong with the Bengals' defense? Why is everyone just standing there? Now they're all shifting their weight, going from the right back to the left, but the transition is so sudden that a lot of players are colliding with each other. What's going on?"
Kirk's commentary paused for a moment as he quickly scanned the field, trying to solve the puzzle. Then, Teddy's voice came through. "It's not Lu Ke, it's Lynch!"
Just a half-second later, Kirk also noticed. "Jesus Christ! Lynch! It's not Lu Ke running with the ball; it's Lynch! With a fake pass and a fake handoff, he completely fooled the Bengals' defense. All the defensive players were caught off guard and completely lost their balance."
"An open lane! Lynch found an open lane! Between the offensive left tackle and the offensive right guard, there's a small gap. Lynch quickly squeezed through it, passed the offensive line, and passed the defensive line! God damn it! The Bengals' defense has completely lost their defensive positions. There's no one defending him, absolutely no one! All the players on the front line are in a complete mess!"
Kirk's eyes were full of surprise and shock. He thought there had been enough surprises in today's game, but he had clearly spoken too soon.
"Lynch! Lynch is still running! The Bengals' second-line defense is quickly catching up, but Logan Newman and Michael Crabtree are helping to block. The two cornerbacks' circle of defenders has been broken. It's a clear path now! Lynch is speeding up! My God, what are we witnessing? Lynch is still accelerating! There are no defenders, absolutely no defenders left in the backfield. The two safeties are out of position and can't make a tackle. This is a disaster! For the Bengals, this is a disaster!"
"Forty yards, thirty yards, twenty yards... Roar, roar, roar, Lynch is completely unstoppable. He's still sprinting, rolling over them like a tank, and completely disrupting the Bengals' backfield. Touchdown! Without a doubt, it's a touchdown! My God, this is the simplest and easiest touchdown in today's game!"
The touchdown came so unexpectedly and so easily that Kirk and Teddy weren't overly excited. Instead, a big smile appeared on their faces.
The feeling now was that the Bengals' entire defense had completely lost their will to fight. Marcus Lynch's powerful run was a crushing blow, and he ran right past midfield to score a touchdown. His powerful performance was completely unexpected.
"This is the San Francisco 49ers' first rushing touchdown of the season, right?" Teddy suddenly remembered this and looked through the data. Then, he gave an affirmative answer:
"The 49ers' number twenty-seven running back, Marcus Lynch, ran for fifty-eight yards and scored a touchdown. This is the 49ers' first rushing touchdown of the season, and it has truly opened up the game! After completely opening up the passing game, the 49ers' running game has finally scored a touchdown."
After easily running into the end zone and scoring a touchdown, Marcus Lynch was finally released. He ran the football up into the away fans' stands and roared loudly, "Who's the king! Who's the king!" That cathartic roar, like a grizzly bear's, caused a great shock!
The league has now entered the passing era. For running backs, their job isn't to score touchdowns, but to protect the quarterback and share the passing pressure.
Naturally, the number of rushing touchdowns for every team is decreasing. Most of the time, they're in the red zone, for example, on the one-yard line, where they rely on the running back's powerful push to force their way over the one-yard line and score a touchdown. In other situations, rushing touchdowns are indeed not very common.
But today, Lynch completed a fifty-eight-yard rushing touchdown! He completely destroyed the Bengals' defense and brought the art of running to its peak. After I and Logan Newman had both shone brightly, he also finally got to shine on this stage!
Standing on my side of the field, I looked at Lynch, who was running away from everyone, with a look of surprise. Speed wasn't his strong suit, but with the blocks from Newman, Crabtree, and others, Lynch had still managed to score this rushing touchdown. This was definitely a surprise, a surprise that even I hadn't expected.
This was a genuine rushing play. But I was only expecting a six to ten-yard run. Instead, Lynch had pushed through everything and run for a fifty-eight-yard touchdown. The surprise came so fast that I couldn't help but widen my eyes. Then, I laughed silently, slowly took off my helmet, and clenched my fist tightly.
Not far away, I heard the away fans shouting in unison, "It's Bambi!"
I looked in the direction of the sound and saw the fans laughing and my other teammates roaring with laughter. Marcus Lynch stood there with a lonely look on his face. I didn't know what had happened.
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