Candlestick Park erupted!
The gloom and suppression of the first half were completely gone. Everyone was cheering wildly. The successful deep passes had dealt a heavy blow to the Cowboys' confidence and greatly boosted the 49ers' morale. At this moment, they were celebrating as if they had already won the game, releasing all their frustration and pent-up emotions.
But on the field, the 49ers' offense was not celebrating, including Logan, who had just completed the spectacular drive. They were all gathered again, listening to Lu Ke's tactical instructions.
"Vernon Davis is in!" Kirk exclaimed in the Fox studio. "He's replacing wide receiver Kyle Williams! The 49ers are going for a two-tight-end formation!"
Wide receivers are flexible and agile, while tight ends are powerful and heavy. Wide receivers have a variety of routes, while tight ends' routes are relatively simple, mostly relying on brute force. Generally, teams in the league prefer a "three-wide-receiver, one-tight-end" combination to increase the flexibility of the receiving corps and diversify their routes.
Now, the San Francisco 49ers were using a two-tight-end formation. Were they going to have a showdown in the short and intermediate passing zones?
Vernon was full of questions.
Everyone on the team knew that Vernon and Lu Ke didn't get along. Furthermore, while running backs could be rotated and different styles of receivers could be used, the overall style of tight ends was similar. Generally, the starting tight end, like the starting quarterback, wasn't easily replaced.
In the first offensive drive of the second half, Lu Ke had strongly requested that Vernon be replaced by Logan. As a result, Logan not only completed the catch for a touchdown, but he also regained his form. Vernon had been so frustrated that he had kicked over a water cooler.
But now, why was Lu Ke asking him to play? Was Lu Ke not worried that he might intentionally drop the ball or miss a catch just to mess with the team?
Full of doubts, Vernon walked onto the field. He stood to the side, listening to the play call. As he was trying to process it, he heard a voice calling out, "Vernon, are you sure you can catch the ball? If not, I have no problem with you and Logan switching roles."
Lu Ke had called a play for Vernon to be the receiver, not Logan. This wasn't a simple decision.
First, he needed to open up all the team's weapons. Otherwise, once Logan was locked down, he'd be helpless. Second, Logan had already completed two deep passes, so the safeties would surely tighten their coverage on him. Logan needed someone to draw attention away. Third, Lu Ke didn't care if Vernon liked him or not. Personal grudges aside, what Lu Ke needed was a win. Only a win!
In this play, two tight ends were used, one for blocking and one for receiving. As Lu Ke said, if Vernon planned to mess up the play, he could easily assign Vernon to block and let Logan be the receiver.
Vernon didn't have time to think. He just felt the contemptuous looks from all his teammates, as if they were questioning his butterfingers from the first half. This not only questioned his character but also his ability. Before Logan, he was the biggest star among the receiving corps! So, angry words just blurted out, "Damn it! If you can throw it, I can catch it!"
"Good!" Lu Ke replied crisply, then ignored Vernon and looked at his teammates again. "Any questions? If not, let's go!"
All of Vernon's complaints and curses were stifled in his throat. He lined up, his mind full of questions. Was this a trap? What was that guy's game plan?
Ignoring Vernon's mumbling, Lu Ke knew that on the field, his own teammates were more trustworthy than his opponents, the Cowboys. He had to take a gamble and trust Vernon this one time. If he failed? So be it. It was just one play, and he could afford to risk it!
Lu Ke stood in the shotgun formation. Although he and Jim Harbaugh had agreed that this play would also be a pass, since their running game was struggling, they had to use a surprise attack to slowly open things up. But he still meticulously started reading the defense.
Good. The Cowboys were scared. They had changed their defensive formation again.
After halftime, the Cowboys' defense had completely fallen apart. Aside from one sack, they couldn't stop a single play. What's more, the 49ers' offense seemed to have divine help, scoring a touchdown in just four plays on their first drive and pushing past midfield on the first pass of their second drive.
This kind of ability was truly frightening.
More importantly, the Cowboys still hadn't figured out a solution. Their advantage in pass coverage was completely gone, and they had no idea what the opposing quarterback's play calls would be. How could this be? The quarterback from the first half and the second half seemed like two completely different people!
After giving up a long deep pass, the Cowboys changed their defensive formation.
In the secondary, two safeties were covering the backfield. Two cornerbacks had clearly dropped back and were now standing at the edge of the intermediate passing zone. They could move forward to assist with short passes or drop back to assist with deep passes.
In the front, the defensive formation had changed to a 4-3 formation. The biggest difference from the first half was that the defensive line had four players, increasing the pressure on the quarterback. They had to pressure the quarterback so he couldn't calmly set up, execute, and complete a pass.
Lu Ke could see the weakness in the short-pass area, and he smelled a golden opportunity.
"Ready..." Lu Ke drew out the word, his pupils constricting as he watched the defenders' body language. After a moment, he shouted, "Ready..." The 3D map of the entire field came to life in his mind, and then he gave the command, "Hut!"
Jonathan Goodwin snapped the ball. After Lu Ke received it, the entire offensive line didn't move. They charged forward hard, colliding head-on with the Dallas Cowboys' defensive line. "Bang! Bang-bang!" The dull thuds exploded like firecrackers.
On the left, two wide receivers. On the right, two tight ends. All of them started moving at the same time.
Interestingly, the two wide receivers ran identical routes, like foxtail grass. The first part was a full-speed 40-yard sprint. At the seven-yard line, Ted Ginn stopped first. Following the downward-hanging head of the foxtail grass, he ran back a little, making a small half-circle. Michael Crabtree continued forward, and at the 15-yard line, he copied Ginn and also circled back.
Even more interesting, the two tight ends ran identical routes, looking like the mirror image of the two wide receivers' routes. The first part was a 40-yard sprint, then they stopped, turned, and circled back. Logan Newman stopped first, and then Vernon Davis stopped.
The scattered running routes of the four players had very strong vertical attack capabilities. The Dallas Cowboys' zone defense strategy was completely broken, and they had to resort to man-to-man coverage. The cornerbacks covered the first ones to stop, and the safeties rushed forward to cover the second ones to stop.
The change was here. Without realizing it, two linebackers were also pulled in the direction of Logan's run.
Because Logan's stopping point was around five or six yards, right behind the linebackers, the seemingly empty short-pass area was actually heavily guarded. But, on the other hand, the Cowboys' front line of seven players was now reduced to five, and the blitzing pressure was significantly softened.
"He raises his arm, a pass! Newman is wide open, oh, no, it's not Newman, it's Davis! Vernon Davis!"
Troy exclaimed. He could even feel the panic of the Dallas Cowboys' players on the field. With four players in one-on-one coverage, they all had some room to catch the ball. Lu Ke chose the right side, but not his usual partner, Logan Newman, but Vernon Davis, the one who caused the interception in the first half.
"The Cowboys' defense is in chaos. The 49ers' offensive line is doing a great job, airtight! The pocket protection is solid, giving Lu Ke enough time to observe and pass. But Lu Ke's pass is very quick! It's a... 20-yard pass, whoa! 20 yards! Lu Ke has completed another bold 20-yard pass! Vernon Davis has caught the pass! Davis turns and starts running with the ball!"
It wasn't a short pass; it was a deep pass!
Troy wanted to see how long Lu Ke had to throw the ball, but there was no time. Vernon Davis was already on the move.
"Now there's only Danny McCray left on this side of the Cowboys' backfield. It's Danny McCray again! Davis accelerates, then accelerates again, a sharp stop and turn, a beautiful spin move! Whoa, with that juke, McCray misses the tackle. He can't stop Davis's run. 20 yards, 15 yards... No one can keep up. The Cowboys' defense has completely lost its balance. The closest player is at least 25 yards away, and he can't catch up... 10 yards, 5 yards, Davis even slows down, but he still scores an easy touchdown! Touchdown!"
After speaking, Troy froze and blinked, then realized: The San Francisco 49ers had scored another touchdown? Since the start of the second half, the offense had been on the field twice and scored two touchdowns. This efficiency was simply incredible!
A series of exclamations erupted in the Fox studio, but Kirk's and Teddy's voices were so insignificant because the entire Candlestick Park had exploded. All the fans—all the home fans—were on their feet, jumping and yelling. The sound of the crowd was shaking the stadium, and even the howling wind seemed insignificant.
"Two drives, two passes, 100% completion rate. One for 30 yards, one for 20 yards. Touchdown, complete!" Kirk exclaimed into his microphone. At this moment, any words seemed too pale. Just the list of stats was enough to convey his shock and amazement.
The touchdown came so quickly and so easily. It felt like a leisurely stroll. In a total of six plays—four passes, one run, and one sack—they scored two touchdowns. More importantly, they wasted almost no time. The speed and efficiency of the offense were simply terrifying!
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