The first regular season game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks has ended!
The San Francisco 49ers not only got a good start at home with a thrilling victory but also, in this historic game, witnessed the first-ever Asian starting quarterback in league history!
The highly anticipated and much-maligned rookie Asian quarterback who made history, Lu Ke, turned in a stunning performance with the final stats: 29 completions out of 37 attempts, 363 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He was sacked once and had a quarterback rating of 152.9, with a PFF grade of 1.8.
Logan Newman had three touchdowns, Kyle Williams had one, and Marcus Lynch had one.
With five touchdowns in a single game, Lu Ke broke the historical record for a rookie, reaching an unprecedented height! He is the first rookie quarterback in history to throw for five touchdowns in his first career game!
It was perfect, perfect, and nothing but perfect!
After every NFL game, statistical organizations release the relevant data immediately. Two of the most authoritative data points are the quarterback rating and the PFF grade.
First, the quarterback rating is the league's official rating. As the name suggests, it is a rating specifically for quarterbacks, evaluating players in the NCAA, NFL, and Canada's CFL.
It uses a fixed professional formula to calculate the final score based on directly related data, including passing attempts, completions, passing yards, number of touchdowns, and number of interceptions. Since 1973, this has been the most important and authoritative reference data for quarterbacks in the league.
The quarterback rating has a special formula, and the score fluctuates between 0-158.3, which means the maximum score is 158.3.
Each game is different, and a quarterback's performance is bound to fluctuate with the state of the offense and the opponent's defense. The quarterback rating naturally differs as well.
Generally, an average rating for an entire season in the range of 90 to 110 is considered an elite quarterback. The highest single-season average rating for a quarterback in the league's regular season is Peyton Manning's 121.1 in 2004, while the best career average is Aaron Rodgers' 104.1 over six seasons, which puts him above the rest.
Furthermore, it is very normal for a quarterback to perform exceptionally well in a specific game, with all his stats being excellent, leading to an incredibly high quarterback rating. Overall, as long as a quarterback's score exceeds 120, that performance is considered top-tier.
Next is the PFF grade. PFF stands for Pro-Football-Focus. It is a professional grading organization that hires a large number of statisticians and experts to watch every game, collect data on every player's performance on every play, and then assign a final grade.
The grades are based on data, but expert opinions are also included.
The PFF grading system is unique, with a minimum score of -2 (negative two) and a maximum score of 2 (positive two). A score higher than positive one is green, which means an excellent performance. A score lower than negative one is red, which means a poor performance. The range between those two scores, including a zero, is black, which means an average or unremarkable performance.
Similar to the quarterback rating, the PFF grade evaluates every player who takes the field. Even if a player only comes on as a substitute for one play, they will still be given a corresponding grade. This data not only serves as a reference for the public but also for professional commentators and team coaches.
The quarterback rating and PFF grade are both objective and authoritative. They do not care about a player's race or whether they are a rookie or a veteran. Everything is based on the numbers.
After the first week of the regular season this year, Lu Ke deservedly became the most dazzling focus, not because he was a rookie or because he was Asian, but because of his performance on the field!
His quarterback rating was 152.9, almost a perfect score. His PFF grade was 1.8, also very close to perfect.
It was unimaginable, absolutely unimaginable, that such numbers could easily surpass all other quarterbacks, and he emerged as the best-performing player in the first week of the regular season! Even Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees were completely overshadowed in their games this week.
The first impression in the minds of the viewers who watched the live broadcast or the game highlights was undoubtedly the first pass.
As Lu Ke's first career pass, he made an astonishing deep pass of sixty-six yards, successfully connecting with the rookie tight end Logan Newman, sealing the deal with a touchdown! Such a shocking performance would be a major story for any player, and it also set the tone for the entire game!
But, such an amazing pass was overshadowed by Lu Ke's all-encompassing and destructive performance throughout the game! It was! This was the most incredible thing!
In the face of his quarterback rating and PFF grade, all praise became pale and weak, and all exclamations lost their meaning. The thunderous waves of surprise and shock almost rendered everyone speechless.
This was a first-year rookie! This was an Asian player! This was an undrafted rookie! This was also the first game of his combined college and professional career!
Any single one of these factors, when combined with such a high quarterback rating and PFF grade, would be incredibly shocking. But now, all four factors were combined, and almost everyone's mind was asking the same question:
Why did no one notice how good this quarterback was at the rookie training camp this year? Why was this quarterback completely unknown during the draft? Why, after the draft, did this quarterback bounce around in multiple teams' training camps and still not find a home?
If it weren't for Alex Smith's unexpected injury, would it have meant that the NFL had missed out on a genius?
Words had lost their power. People could only stare in a daze, accepting the baptism of shock, as if a great aurora had met a meteor shower—a magnificent sight that defied the laws of nature and made one's soul feel incredibly small.
When the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks ended with a score of 35-17, no one was talking about it or even remembered it. Everyone was focused on Lu Ke, the rookie quarterback who had made history and burst onto the scene!
The entire league was shaken to its core, and no one was an exception.
It's worth mentioning that this year's number one draft pick, Cam Newton, after a tumultuous offseason and competition, naturally earned the starting position.
Compared to Lu Ke, Cam had the support and encouragement of all of Carolina. The entire organization, both on and off the field, unanimously showed their support, which made Cam's first career start a smooth one. Of course, he was also the center of attention, and the entire league was watching the number one pick's debut performance.
In fact, Cam was not a bust. His performance was quite impressive: 24 completions out of 37 attempts, 422 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, as well as a personal rushing touchdown. He had a quarterback rating of 110.4 and a PFF grade of 1.3.
Such a performance is impressive for a rookie. The 422 passing yards not only proved the doubters of his passing ability at the rookie training camp wrong, but it also broke Peyton Manning's passing record for a first career game, claiming the historical record for most passing yards in a rookie debut.
Although the Carolina Panthers still unfortunately lost to the Arizona Cardinals with a score of 21-28, a heartbreaking difference of just one touchdown, the Carolina fans were still overjoyed. They truly believed they had found their future franchise quarterback and were confident that with Cam's leadership, they could build a dynasty.
However, "impressive" is just "impressive" and is far from "spectacular." In the face of Lu Ke's stunning performance, Cam's shine was immediately dimmed. More importantly, Lu Ke not only had excellent stats but also led the San Francisco 49ers to a victory. Even the Carolina fans, in their excitement, couldn't help but be a little stunned:
What on earth is going on here?
Before the official game, the entire league—and I mean the entire league—was waiting to have a laugh. Many people were privately mocking the San Francisco 49ers for choosing this Asian quarterback, saying it was simply for market considerations, and that the league was also promoting it for political correctness. If Lu Ke's performance in the first game was too terrible, then the league would be the butt of a big joke.
Even the San Francisco 49ers' own fans were complaining and crying out in frustration.
But now, the world has suddenly changed, and it's almost unrecognizable. This is going to be interesting.
After the game, according to official regulations, all players must be interviewed in the player tunnel. Lu Ke was, without a doubt, the target of the media. Over thirty reporters surrounded him, making it completely impossible to move. Flashes were going off everywhere, and questions came one after another, making it hard to even react.
"Number fourteen, for God's sake, who are you?" This seemingly absurd question was actually what the reporters truly wanted to ask.
Lu Ke couldn't help but smile and replied seriously, "My name is Lu Ke, from UCLA, the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback. That's all. If you want more personal information, I'm sorry, I'd prefer to tell my future girlfriend, not a bunch of... wolves."
Yes, Lu Ke chose the word "wolves" to describe the men in front of him.
The reporters were stunned for a moment, and then they all burst out laughing.
This young man was witty and had good manners. After just one meeting, the reporters already liked him. In the league, especially on a team, a player who can get along well with the media is a treasure. Just look at Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Their commercial value is incalculable.
"Lu Ke, I have a question. Before the game, Richard Sherman provoked you multiple times, saying you wouldn't dare to throw in his direction. But in today's game, it seemed like you didn't care at all and completely opened up the field. Were you doing that on purpose?"
With the second question, the atmosphere started to get a bit heated.
"Who?" was Lu Ke's response.
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