All the games of the third week of the regular season have ended one after another.
For San Francisco 49ers fans, the team's victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, which was their first away victory of the season, successfully gave them a three-game winning streak! This was a celebration, a celebration that was too good to be true!
Who would have thought that the San Francisco 49ers, who started with a five-game losing streak last year and lost all four preseason games this year, would have a strong three-game winning streak in the regular season?
This offseason, the San Francisco 49ers underwent a major overhaul. Almost half of the entire team, from top to bottom, was cleaned out. They were determined to make a fresh start with a brand-new look.
Similar situations are not uncommon in the league. Some teams successfully make a comeback, while others continue to struggle. The reason why the NFL is so exciting and why the Pittsburgh Steelers have only won the Super Bowl six times is that the strength of the teams is very close. A team that was struggling last year can become a championship contender this year through smart drafting and accurate trades in the offseason.
The charm of tactics, which transcends physical talent, has become the biggest key in football, and that's why the quarterback position gets so much attention.
It seems that the San Francisco 49ers are on the right track. At least, they are as of the third week.
After three weeks of games, there are only four undefeated teams left: the Buffalo Bills, the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions, and the San Francisco 49ers.
The defending champions, the Green Bay Packers, are unstoppable and have shown a strong competitive state. Their divisional rivals, the Detroit Lions, are not to be outdone. This week, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in overtime to get a three-game winning streak.
In addition, the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, who both had winning streaks in the previous two weeks, had a divisional rivalry this week. In the end, the Bills extended their undefeated record with a field goal advantage at home.
Finally, there are the San Francisco 49ers, led by undrafted rookie quarterback me. In a rookie showdown, I defeated another rookie quarterback, Andy Dalton, to secure my third victory.
In fact, three of these four undefeated teams had very poor performances last year.
The Buffalo Bills had a record of 4-12, the Detroit Lions had a record of 6-10, and the San Francisco 49ers also had a record of 6-10. In other words, with the exception of the Green Bay Packers, the other three teams are a perfect example of a "dark horse comeback," and they have shown amazing levels in the first three weeks of the 2011 regular season.
This is the NFL.
Among them, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers has shown a peak performance. In three games, he has thrown eight touchdowns and one interception. His average quarterback rating is 133.5, which puts him at the top of the league. He has continued his strong performance from last season's championship and has shown the quality of a regular season MVP.
Without a doubt, Rodgers is the best-performing quarterback in the league right now.
But besides Rodgers, there's another quarterback who has come out of nowhere and has amazed the entire league: undrafted rookie, Chinese-American player, and rookie professional player—me.
In the third week's game that just ended, I had 24 completions on 33 attempts for 307 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, four sacks, a quarterback rating of 131.75, and a PFF rating of 1.6!
I've had a quarterback rating of over 100 in three consecutive games, given a phenomenal performance in three consecutive games, and dominated the game's momentum in three consecutive games. This performance is already neck and neck with Aaron Rodgers and has made me the hottest quarterback in the entire league!
Not to mention rookie players, among the thirty-two starting quarterbacks in the entire league, my performance is only behind Rodgers. The other thirty quarterbacks are a little lacking, including elite quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Drew Brees. And I'm not only a rookie but an undrafted rookie.
All of this is so incredible and amazing. In addition to the topic, my identity as a Chinese-American player makes all of this even more unbelievable. I have undeniably become the hottest topic this week.
No one can ignore my existence.
People can express their opinions as much as they want. Maybe it's a surprise move, maybe it's luck, maybe it's some mysterious Eastern kung fu, maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe the opponents aren't top-tier... But the fact is that my strong performance has become one of the biggest phenomena of the 2011 season, and everyone is talking about it.
Even "The Hunter" Charles Davis has to calm down now and re-examine me with a more professional and more demanding eye.
With his wild talk in the first week of the regular season, "eating the microphone" in the second week of the regular season, and the luck theory in the third week of the regular season, Charles has firmly stood on the opposite side of me. He has repeatedly expressed contempt and ridicule toward this undrafted rookie quarterback, which has earned Charles a new nickname, "The Hunter."
In the cartoon "Bambi," Bambi's natural enemy is the hunter. Now, in real life, Charles is my natural enemy, so he has become the hunter, a hunter who is always ready to ambush Bambi. This nickname has unexpectedly attracted more attention to Charles, and people are looking forward to the back-and-forth between Charles and me.
Now, three weeks of the regular season have passed. The San Francisco 49ers are still undefeated. I have also successfully proven myself with an excellent performance that outshined Andy Dalton in the rookie quarterback showdown. In response to Charles's doubts and provocations, I have responded with actions.
One slap after another, they were clean and powerful. Even a veteran like Charles couldn't handle it.
"Be rational! Guys, can we all be rational? Don't be emotional. Let's look at the data and comment objectively!" Charles roared hoarsely, trying to find his voice and control the situation in the midst of the noise. But the other commentators sitting across from him were passionate and didn't give him much room to talk.
ESPN's studio is recording the latest episode of "Inside the League," which is dedicated to discussing and analyzing all the games from the third week of the regular season that just ended. But right now, they are discussing the absolute hot topic of the moment: me.
Every guest commentator is scrambling to express their opinions. Clearly, with three consecutive weeks of convincing performances, I am gaining the recognition of more and more professional commentators, but not everyone.
In response to Charles's shouting, Spencer Larson slapped the table with his hand. "Yes, look at the data! Everyone, calm down and take a good look at the data! Three games, eleven touchdowns, one interception, and a quarterback rating of over 100 in three consecutive games! This is the answer Lu Ke gave!"
Spencer's words were endless. Even in a suit, his powerful demeanor made him look like he was about to roll up his sleeves for a confrontation. "In these three stats, Lu Ke is now leading the league, do you hear me? Leading the league! Even when compared to Aaron Rodgers, Lu Ke is not inferior at all. So, what are we arguing about?"
"We're not discussing whether Lu ke can make it into the Hall of Fame or whether Lu ke can achieve greatness!" Before Spencer could finish, Charles interrupted him bluntly. "It's laughable, absolutely laughable. How could he possibly make it into the Hall of Fame? He's only played three games in his career. And you're talking to me about the Hall of Fame? It's still up in the air whether Rodgers can make it into the Hall of Fame in the future!"
"Yes, we're not discussing that!" Spencer couldn't help but laugh. "Are you sure you don't have tinnitus? I said we're not discussing the Hall of Fame! What we're discussing now is, does he have the ability to be an excellent quarterback? The answer is obviously yes. He's no only a qualified starting quarterback, but his performance has been excellent!"
Seeing that Charles turned his head and refused to respond, Spencer challenged him like a bullfighter. "Charles, Charles, as you said, let's look at the data! The data doesn't lie!"
After this series of powerful slaps, Charles's cheeks were flushed, and the bulging veins seemed like they were about to burst at any moment. He looked precarious and dangerous.
"Spencer, Charles means that we should look at the data of the entire team!" Matt Laurence took the initiative to cut into the topic. In the show, there are ten guests, and everyone can express their opinions and views. This is one of the show's biggest highlights, allowing for all kinds of opinions.
Matt was clearly on Charles's side. "The San Francisco 49ers are a very, very young team, but the biggest contributor to their three-game winning streak should be their defense. NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, and Justin Smith are the 49ers' first line of defense..."
As Matt said, the San Francisco 49ers' defense has been outstanding in the past three weeks, especially their run defense. The three players mentioned above are two outside linebackers and one defensive end, all under the age of twenty-six. All three of these defensive players have given phenomenal defensive performances.
They not only firmly contained the opponent's run offense, forcing the opposing quarterback to choose a pass offense, which made their tactics relatively one-dimensional, thus providing more space for the secondary defense to anticipate plays, but they were also a force to be reckoned with in terms of blitzes, sacks, hits, and hurried throws.
"Based on their current performance, these players are worthy of being on the All-American First and Second Teams!" After listing a large amount of data, Matt concluded, "The defense is what's holding the opponent back. That's the core of the San Francisco 49ers' transformation!"
"Are you telling me that the 49ers are winning games because of their defense?" Spencer said with a sarcastic smile, shaking his head repeatedly.
Melissa Anderson, who was sitting diagonally in front of him, also laughed. "Guys, come on. Three games, eleven passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown. Their scores in the three games were 35, 21, and 31. And now you're telling me they're winning because of their defense? I'm not sure if you're biased or if you need an eye doctor."
Bang, a bomb was thrown directly at the dissenters.
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