The deafening cheers and shouts surged from all directions, creating a wave of sound so powerful that I could feel its hot pressure on my skin. My blood began to boil, adrenaline surged, and my slightly sweaty fingertips felt tight.
In this second game, I truly felt the home-field advantage of Candlestick Park. With countless spotlights and camera flashes all around, every move on the field was under intense scrutiny, as if I were standing on top of the world. I could feel every cell in my body roaring, craving the competition, the challenge, the game itself.
I loved these moments.
The more excited I got, the calmer and more composed I became. I could even sense the breeze as it swept across the grass; everything in my vision became crystal clear.
Even though it was only the second game of my career, I felt like a seasoned hunter, meticulously observing the defense, calmly making my decisions, recalling Jim Harbaugh's game plan, and then launching the offense with precision.
The Dallas Cowboys chose a traditional, by-the-book defensive formation, while I opted for the more flexible pistol formation. After the snap, I looked and looked, but I couldn't find a single open receiver. I had no choice but to hand the ball off to Marcus Lynch.
After his impressive performance in the first game, Jim Harbaugh decided to have Marcus Lynch and Anthony Dixon share the starting running back position, with playing time determined by their performance.
Marcus took the ball and ran with force, but the Cowboys' defensive line left no gaps. The run defense was solid, only allowing a three-yard gain before they tackled Marcus, ending the play.
It was second down with seven yards to go.
I stayed in the pistol formation. After a dropback, I began looking for a receiver, but all I could see were Cowboys players in white and navy blue. I couldn't find an open player to pass to. Not only was Logan in tight, one-on-one coverage, but there were also two other players nearby ready to assist with the defense.
Frustrated, I had to hand the ball off to Marcus again, continuing to rely on the run game. Unfortunately, Marcus only gained two yards before two players tackled him and brought him down.
It was third down with five yards to go.
I set up a shotgun formation, sending out three wide receivers and one tight end. Even Marcus ran out as a receiver, creating a look of an all-out aerial attack.
After the snap, the Cowboys players still dominated my field of vision. They were packed together so tightly it felt like they were covering the entire field. In a flash, I chose my target: Logan Newman.
With two players covering him, Logan had very few options. Even though Logan tried his best to make the catch, the Cowboys' safety, Abram Elam, delivered a flawless defense. At the last second, he leaped in front of Logan and knocked the ball away, resulting in an incomplete pass.
Three-and-out!
The 49ers' first offensive drive lasted ninety-six seconds and ended in a three-and-out. We only gained five yards and were forced to punt. This performance was truly underwhelming.
It wasn't that a three-and-out was a disaster. In any game, even for the top elite quarterbacks, three-and-outs are inevitable. Every offensive drive is a chess match between the offense and defense, and it's impossible for every drive to go smoothly.
What was so disappointing was Lu Ke's incredible performance in the previous week's game. After Romo's great start, everyone was hoping Lu Ke would deliver a strong response to make the game exciting. But a three-and-out was certainly not the start people were hoping for.
Still, this was only the first offensive drive of the entire game. Everyone was patient, waiting to see what would happen. Not even Charles Davis would overreact to one three-and-out. The outcome of today's game was still anyone's guess.
But for me, as a quarterback, what was more important than a three-and-out was "why?" What went wrong? In that drive, I sensed something dangerous.
In a football game, the offense is made up of three parts: the offensive line of five players, the offensive weapons (four receivers and a running back), and a quarterback.
Correspondingly, the defense has two parts: the front seven and the secondary.
The front seven and secondary are named for their proximity to the offensive players. The front seven are closer to the offensive line, in the front half of the field. The secondary is closer to the end zone, in the back half of the field.
The secondary is relatively simple, consisting of four players: two safeties and two cornerbacks. They are responsible for defending against passes and covering the middle and backfield. Their targets are always the same: wide receivers and tight ends.
The cornerbacks are positioned closer to the offensive line, covering the receivers one-on-one. The safeties are positioned farther back. If a cornerback gets beaten or a receiver gets past them, the safeties step in to help and break up the play.
Based on their roles, safeties can be further divided into free safeties and strong safeties.
A free safety has a larger coverage area and roams the backfield to help with defense. A strong safety's primary job is to cover the tight end and is usually in one-on-one coverage. Abram Elam is a strong safety.
Overall, the secondary's job is to cover the backfield and defend against passes.
The front seven is more complex, with a wide variety of tactical combinations. There are seven players in total, divided into two parts: the defensive line and the linebackers. The defensive line is closer to the offensive line, almost face-to-face. The linebackers are behind the defensive line, about one or two steps back.
There are two main defensive formations in the league: the "4-3 formation," with four defensive linemen and three linebackers, and the "3-4 formation," with three defensive linemen and four linebackers. Of course, these are just two basic formations, and the defensive tactics built on them are endless.
The defensive line, corresponding to the offensive line, consists of a nose tackle in the middle, and defensive tackles and defensive ends on the sides. Their job is to rush the passer, break through the offensive line, and tackle, hit, or sack the quarterback to stop the offense as quickly as possible.
The linebackers are divided into middle linebackers and outside linebackers based on their position. This is the most important position in the entire defense, corresponding to the quarterback. They are the ones who call out the plays for the defense. Generally, the defensive captain is a linebacker.
The linebackers' job is to stop runs and rush the passer. First, they must defend against the running back and stop the run game. Second, they must defend against short passes and cover short passes in a passing play. Finally, they must rush the passer when they see an opportunity, get past the offensive line, and try to sack the quarterback.
The "4-3 formation" is a defensive formation that focuses on rushing the passer, putting a lot of players on the quarterback. The "3-4 formation" is a defensive formation that focuses on pass defense, covering short, medium, and long passes.
Overall, the front seven is an aggressive defense that stops short passes, stops the run, and rushes the quarterback.
In today's game, the Dallas Cowboys used a special defensive formation: the "3-4-2-2," with three defensive linemen, four linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties.
The defensive formation itself is very common. More than half of the teams in the league use this formation. However, the Dallas Cowboys had a very specific defensive strategy.
The three defensive linemen were responsible for stopping the running back, the four linebackers were responsible for covering short passes, the two cornerbacks were responsible for medium passes, and the two safeties were responsible for long passes.
In other words, the Cowboys gave up on rushing the passer; they didn't even try. Instead, they put a total of eight players on pass defense! It was a complete cover defense, locking down the entire backfield.
The San Francisco 49ers only had four receivers, and even with the running back, that was only five players. Eight against five. The Cowboys' defense had a clear advantage. Even with man-to-man coverage, it was five against five, and the Cowboys still had three other players who could cover zones, move around, and help with the defense.
It was clear that the Dallas Cowboys had carefully and repeatedly analyzed the footage from the San Francisco 49ers' first game and had planned their defense around Lu Ke's strengths and weaknesses.
They decided to give up on the individual pass rush and focus on pass defense.
I am a quarterback with average physical talent, but my passing accuracy is exceptional, so much so that it could decide the outcome of a game.
The Cowboys could have chosen to rush the passer, hitting me head-on and destroying my passing rhythm and confidence. But they would have to break through the 49ers' offensive line, which performed above average in the first game.
The Cowboys chose to defend against the pass, completely shutting down my deadliest weapon. Even if I completed a pass, the yards gained would not be too dangerous. This was like striking a snake in the right spot, grabbing a hold of my lifeline.
In the first offensive drive, my passing targets were completely shut down, and Marcus's run game couldn't get going. The result was a three-and-out.
In modern football, it's a passing era, but a balance between passing and running is still a strategy that every team emphasizes. The reason is this: when one strategy is shut down, the other must be able to open up the game and help out. But if the run game is also shut down, and you're forced to only pass, the result can only be a disaster.
This is a problem that every quarterback will eventually face, and it's a problem that every quarterback must solve. A three-and-out must not turn into a series of three-and-outs.
In my short professional career, this was the first time I had truly faced a difficult challenge.
NOTE:
New chapters drop five times a day, every Monday through Saturday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release five 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 20 chapters in advance!