The regular season week eight game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns ended with a final score of 48-7.
The game entered garbage time after the third quarter.
Although the Cleveland Browns briefly rallied in the fourth quarter with some clutch plays, they took advantage of the opposing defense's momentary lack of focus. They used a combination of passes and runs to advance and successfully scored a touchdown, finally breaking their scoreless streak.
But then, Lu Ke took the field again and killed all suspense. He threw a series of accurate short passes and then, without warning, a long pass to Logan Newnan in the intermediate and deep pass zone. Newnan's long run after the catch led to a 41-yard passing touchdown, completely killing the game.
After the Cleveland Browns' offense went three-and-out again, the San Francisco 49ers' offense, whose nerves were beginning to relax, started to control the game clock with short passes and runs. However, the Browns' dejected defense couldn't get it together. In a daze, Lu Ke once again led his team into the field goal zone.
If the defense hadn't finally woken up and knocked down Lu Ke's 23-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr. at the last minute, Lu Ke would have scored another passing touchdown. However, after going three-and-out, the San Francisco 49ers still relied on David Akers' reliable kick to score a field goal, adding three more points.
After that, the score didn't change.
The game was over.
The explosive and dominant Lu Ke was undoubtedly the biggest highlight of the entire game. He completely controlled the regular season game, completing 29 of 36 passes for 412 yards, with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Based on the stats alone, Lu Ke not only had an astonishing completion rate of 80.5% but also had his first 400-yard passing game of his professional career.
More importantly, he found the key to a run-pass balance, and the entire team played well. Logan Newnan had three receiving touchdowns, Ted Ginn Jr. had one, and Marcus Lynch had two rushing touchdowns. On top of that, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, and Kyle Williams also had excellent receiving performances.
It's worth mentioning that rookie running back Kendall Hunter rushed for 53 yards in this game. As a rotational running back, he was gradually finding his place in the offense and starting to contribute. This was crucial for diversifying the team's offensive plays.
In the end, Lu Ke's quarterback rating was 153.9, and his PFF rating was 1.9, both of which were new career highs!
His quarterback rating, in particular, was 153.9 out of a perfect score of 158.3, which seemed to put him not too far from a "perfect game." Based on his performance in the first half of the season alone, Lu Ke's performance as a rookie quarterback had already surpassed Ben Roethlisberger and was setting a new standard.
On the show "Inside the League," Spencer Larson, Lu Ke's biggest supporter and advocate, said, "More important than a victory is that compared to the first game, we can see Lu Ke's growth and improvement in this week's game. This rookie quarterback is growing at an astonishing speed, which is undoubtedly the biggest discovery of the season!"
It was not surprising to defeat the Cleveland Browns, a team with an inconsistent level of play and had always been a weak team. But Lu Ke's excellent form in this game was a sight to behold.
After the eighth week of the regular season, the league's official player of the week was announced, and Lu Ke was once again awarded the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. This was the third time this season that Lu Ke had received this award, after week one and week five, tying with Aaron Rodgers, who had also won the title three times so far.
Without a doubt, Lu Ke and Rodgers were the two best quarterbacks in the NFC this season. On a side note, the Green Bay Packers had their bye week this week, but they had still won before their bye week. With seven wins and zero losses, they were the only undefeated team in the entire league.
From the post-game comments, it was clear that with his excellent performance week after week, Lu Ke had crushed all the skepticism with his actions. At the same time, his mature and wise performance as a rookie quarterback was truly eye-opening, and it was met with a wave of praise.
Spencer Larson's praise was just the tip of the iceberg, and Charles Davis's silence and slump were the best footnote.
To that end, the official NFL website and magazine both published a special report:
"Who is he? He is Lu Ke !"
In the title, the official report used simplified Chinese characters to write "Lu Ke" and added Pinyin to formally introduce the league's first starting Chinese-American quarterback.
In fact, after the first and third weeks of the regular season, there were waves of discussion about Lu Ke and the topic of "who he is." But this time, it was different. This was an official report from the league, which gave him a grand introduction and compared him to Kurt Warner's Cinderella season in 1999.
"That year, countless fans witnessed the Cinderella story. Kurt Warner, in his second professional season, led the St. Louis Rams, who had only won four games and lost twelve the previous year, to a 13-3 record. After winning the regular season MVP, he went all the way to the Super Bowl and sealed the game with a 73-yard passing touchdown, putting a beautiful end to the Rams' perfect season and writing a Hollywood-style fairy tale ending.
At that time, after starting the regular season with four consecutive wins, everyone was asking the same question: Who the hell is this guy?
Now, after witnessing Lu Ke's rise, everyone is asking the same question: Who the hell is he?"
The familiar wave of discussion had a magical effect because it came from the official league, adding another layer of mystique to Lu Ke's miraculous season.
For regular fans, after the San Francisco 49ers' game against the Detroit Lions, they truly started to get to know Lu Ke. And after this week's dominant victory, they began to understand him even more. Without a doubt, this rookie quarterback had star potential.
For professional fans and people in the industry, they were more curious about how long Lu Ke's strong rise would last, not to mention whether he could replicate Warner's Cinderella story. And when would he peak? Also, which team would be able to replicate the Philadelphia Eagles' success against the San Francisco 49ers?
The contempt, disdain, and mockery from before the regular season had all completely vanished. People were now seriously acknowledging Lu Ke's existence and giving him the highest level of attention.
The same was true for reporters.
After the easy win against the Browns at home, the game itself was unremarkable, with not many highlights or talking points. In the post-game press conference, reporters were already looking forward to the San Francisco 49ers' next opponent.
It wasn't because the opponent was so strong, but because the topic was so explosive. In the ninth week of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers would play on the road against the Washington Redskins.
The Washington Redskins, founded in 1932, were a famous traditional powerhouse in the league. The team won three Super Bowl championships in 1982, 1987, and 1991, and were undoubtedly one of the teams with the richest history and heritage in the entire league.
The most famous and controversial thing about this team was its name, "Redskins," which referred to the brown skin of Native Americans. It was rumored that the name "Redskins" was chosen to honor the team's head coach at the time, a Native American named William "Lone Star" Dietz.
But with the progress of society and the change of times, things about race, culture, and history have changed dramatically. Native Americans and human rights organizations believed that the name "Redskins" originated from the American Civil War and was a derogatory term used by immigrants against native Native Americans. It was offensive and insulting, so they demanded that the Washington Redskins change the team's name.
This controversy has always followed the Washington Redskins. Even President Barack Obama was asked about this issue on multiple occasions. And until they change their name, this controversy will follow them like a shadow.
After the millennium, the Washington Redskins also fell into a slump, especially with the pressure from their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, and the Dallas Cowboys. Their room for survival gradually shrank. In the eleven years, they only made the playoffs twice, in 2005 and 2007. The other seasons were always in a slump, with no signs of improvement.
The reason why reporters were so interested in the Washington Redskins was one thing: Lu Ke.
As the season continued, the attention on Lu Ke continued to grow and heat up, with no signs of slowing down. Naturally, his not being drafted became a major talking point.
Among them, the Washington Redskins were undoubtedly one of the teams that came closest to drafting Lu Ke.
In the rookie training camp, they seriously considered Lu Ke and even thought about drafting him as a backup quarterback in the draft, but they eventually gave up. Then, during the off-season tryouts, Lu Ke also went to try out for the Washington Redskins, but he was unfortunately not selected again.
Twice—and one could even say three times—the Washington Redskins missed out on Lu Ke, a quarterback who could be compared to Aaron Rodgers this season. Now, the Washington Redskins were about to face Lu Ke, and reporters would naturally not let go of such a hot topic.
🗒️NOTE:
New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!