After coming on the field, getting intercepted on the second pass was obviously not good news.
Strictly speaking, the interception wasn't Lu Ke's direct fault. Williams tipped the football but couldn't complete the catch, which changed the pass's arc and led to the interception. But from an objective point of view, Lu Ke's pass itself was inaccurate, which led to the failed connection with Williams, and that's what caused the subsequent accident.
So, it was still Lu Ke's fault.
Lu Ke's first career interception was due to Vernon Davis's butterfingers. After completing the catch, he was forced to tip the football, and then the opponent completed the interception. The fault wasn't with Lu Ke; it was more of a ball security issue with Vernon. But for today's interception, Lu Ke couldn't avoid the responsibility.
Standing on the spot, Lu Ke put his hands on his hips and seriously started to think about his defensive read and his throwing decision, looking for his mistake.
To be honest, before the game, Lu Ke had thought about the revenge match. If the Washington Redskins had not hesitated in the draft, his career might have been completely different. Deep down, Lu Ke still wanted to prove himself in front of Mike Shanahan. After all, the communication he had in the rookie training camp did give Lu Ke a glimmer of hope.
If he said he had never thought about "revenge," Lu Ke would be deceiving himself.
But once he was in the game, Lu Ke had completely cleared his mind and put all distractions aside.
This ability could be considered a talent or a habit. Because a quarterback on the field has too much to think about and too much to observe, any distraction could lead to a complete loss of control.
Especially for Lu Ke in high school, with his small frame, a little bit of distraction could lead to a sack or a hit. His physical condition couldn't handle too much impact. To protect himself, and also to learn from his mistakes, Lu Ke had to force himself to focus on the game.
Over time, as long as he was on the field, Lu Ke would enter a state of self-forgetfulness and completely immerse himself in the game. In a way, perhaps this was the key to Lu Ke's success in professional football, at least one of them. Those moments of growth, little by little, made him who he was today.
So, Lu Ke's mind wasn't thinking about any revenge match at all; he was completely reviewing the last drive.
Apparently, after eight weeks of the regular season, opponents had a certain understanding of his passing routes and throwing habits and were setting up targeted defenses. In the last pass, although the defensive line's pressure wasn't too intense, several defenders suddenly extended their arms, as if they had figured out his passing route.
To avoid those arms, he slightly deviated from the route at the moment of throwing. He didn't expect that this would fall right into the opponent's trap and deviate from the original passing route.
The correct way would have been to increase the pass arc to avoid the opponent's arms and fingertips, or to move his feet to adjust the passing route and then break through the opponent's interception with a bullet pass.
In that split second, his thought process was not comprehensive enough, which led to this interception. Even if it hadn't been an interception, it would have been an incomplete pass.
In future games, defenders would gradually get smarter and figure out his patterns and habits. So, as a quarterback, he had to be even smarter and stay ahead of his opponents. Deep down, Lu Ke quietly clenched his fist and told himself that he should spend more time watching game footage after this week's game.
"Bambi, are you okay?" Mike Lupati saw Lu Ke in a daze and came over to him. He patted Lu Ke's arm with concern and comforted him, "This was just an accident. Accidents are always unavoidable in a game. Don't worry about it too much. Focusing on the next drive is the right thing to do."
This was only Lu Ke's second interception of the season. Lupati was still worried that Lu Ke was taking this mistake too seriously.
Lu Ke was a little confused and blinked. "I'm fine. I'm great. What about you? Are you not okay?" This counter-question made Lupati freeze. Then Lu Ke patted Lupati's shoulder. "Let's go. We have to get off the field and get ready for the next drive. We'll get the advantage back."
Not only was he not dejected, but he was also encouraging Lupati. After saying that, Lu Ke jogged off the field.
Lupati, who was left behind, was full of questions. What just happened?
After Lu Ke got off the field, Kip Crist, Craig Roman, and others all came up to him and patted him on the shoulder, offering comfort and encouragement. But Lu Ke didn't take it to heart at all.
He knew that interceptions were part of the game. Even elite quarterbacks couldn't avoid interceptions. What's more, the record for most interceptions in a rookie season was still held by Peyton Manning. Manning was Lu Ke's idol, and that didn't stop Manning from becoming one of the top quarterbacks in the league later on.
Because he wasn't bothered, Lu Ke was also confused by everyone's unusual behavior.
It wasn't until Alex Smith personally explained, "Don't worry too much about that interception. The situation just now wasn't a mistake in the play. Just be a little more careful next time."
Only then did Lu Ke realize what was going on. He chuckled and tried to explain, but when he saw the looks of concern from his teammates and coaches, he finally swallowed his words and didn't reject their kindness. "Okay, I got it. Don't worry, I'll refocus."
Lu Ke clenched his fists and put on a look of determination, and at the same time, he got his teammates to focus.
An interception caused a turnover. So, the Washington Redskins would start their drive from the San Francisco 49ers' thirty-seven-yard line. For the Redskins, this was an excellent opportunity. If they could get one first down, they would be in field goal range. One step further, and it would be a great chance for a touchdown.
Carrying the expectations and attention of the entire stadium, Rex Grossman led the Redskins' offense onto the field.
Grossman, who had been holding his breath, didn't waste this excellent opportunity. He calmly observed after coming onto the field. In a precarious pocket, he calmly completed a pass, successfully finding wide receiver Anthony Armstrong.
Against a double-team coverage, Armstrong used his physical talent to leap high and catch the football over the two players' heads. He secured the ball and then fell to the ground. This catch advanced the ball for fourteen yards, bringing the Redskins to the twenty-three-yard line in one go.
This spectacular pass and catch once again reminded people of their strong performance in the first four weeks of the regular season, earning a crazy roar from the crowd and truly showing the home field's power.
Continuing this momentum, Grossman showed a good passing level on the next drive. He threw three short passes, failing once and succeeding twice, and got a first down with the help of the wide receivers' continued advancement. In the blink of an eye, the Redskins were in the red zone.
Finally, Grossman handed the football off to the running back. This year's rookie, Roy Helu, the 105th pick in the fourth round, found a small gap and ran for eight yards, successfully entering the end zone and scoring a touchdown!
After the pain of being shut out in last week's game, the Washington Redskins were the first to score a touchdown in this game. All their previous slump was gone. Not only Helu, who scored the touchdown, but also quarterback Grossman clenched his fists and roared in celebration, venting his frustration and misery.
It seemed that the pressure of the so-called "revenge game" had affected Grossman even more than the two main players, Lu Ke and Shanahan.
The home fans at FedExField were in a frenzy. The Washington Redskins' home jerseys were burgundy, which was a little darker than the San Francisco 49ers' home jerseys. At this moment, the entire stadium was a vast ocean of burgundy, and in this stadium that could hold eighty-two thousand people, one could feel the "malice" from the home fans.
However, this wave of momentum only lasted for less than a minute and then stopped abruptly.
Because the Washington Redskins' kicker, Graham Gano, had missed the extra point.
With one point up for grabs, Gano unbelievably missed the kick! Facing the pressure from the San Francisco 49ers' special teams, the Washington Redskins' front line was shaky and precarious. Then, one player could be seen raising his hands high, making a move to block the kick. This forced Gano to slightly change his kicking angle.
And then... that was it. The football went past the goalposts and was a complete miss. So, one extra point was gone just like that.
Although it was unbelievable, such things do happen in games.
The field goal percentage for an extra point is almost 100%, but in reality, it's not. People do make mistakes, especially in crucial moments of an important game. There have been many games where teams lost because of a missed extra point, especially in close and tense matchups.
A small point can sometimes be magnified infinitely.
The score on the board was 6-0, with the Washington Redskins temporarily in the lead.
All the home fans were stunned. They couldn't believe that their special teams had made such a mistake. The shock was indescribable, but they didn't have much time to feel annoyed or angry because Lu Ke was leading the San Francisco 49ers' offense onto the field again.
So, the fans temporarily let go of the kicker who had made the mistake and shifted their attention to the opponent. The entire stadium erupted in boos and jeers. Looks of contempt and provocation were everywhere. They were doing their best to create more of a home-field advantage for their team and more obstacles for the visiting team. The thunderous boos were everywhere, coming from all directions.
Unfortunately, it had very little effect on Lu Ke.
🗒️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!