"Thud," a muffled sound echoed in Marcus's ears. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white jersey hit a dark red one hard, making a block one step ahead of the Cardinals' defender who was trying to make a tackle. It was Logan Newman!
It wasn't just Logan; Kyle Williams also caught up, pushing his speed to the limit and using his shoulder to knock another defender away. He saw the defender stumble and lose his balance. Although he didn't fall, his feet were wobbly, and he couldn't keep up with the pace.
Marcus was now only left with one defender, Adrian Wilson. He still lowered his shoulder, lowered his center of gravity, and stared intently at the defender, colliding with him shoulder-to-shoulder. Then both of them started spinning like a top. However, Marcus was in control. After a 360-degree turn, he completely absorbed all the force of the collision, while his opponent fell clumsily to the ground.
With this powerful head-on collision, Marcus had broken through the last line of defense, Wilson. The narrow path in front of him instantly became a wide-open field. The entire world was laid out before Marcus. Now, all he had to do was one thing: accelerate, and then accelerate again!
"What a beautiful block! The 49ers' offense used a series of clever screens to powerfully tear open a path. Lynch is sprinting, still sprinting, 20 yards, 15 yards, 10 yards... Lynch's speed has reached its peak, he's unstoppable! Absolutely unstoppable!" In the broadcast booth, Kirk had straightened his back and was spewing out commentary like a machine gun, directly showing his excitement and passion, vividly describing the situation on the field.
"Darnell Dockett! The Cardinals' number 90 is trying to get back to make a tackle. He's chasing quickly. In the brief moment when Lynch was about to be tackled, Dockett successfully caught up again. He has now become the last line of defense for the Cardinals. He's trying hard to dive and tackle Lynch. He jumps high, my God, he's flying!"
"My God! Oh, my God! Jesus Christ! A sudden change of direction! My God! It's as if Lynch has eyes on the back of his head! He makes a sudden stop and a step to the right! It's unbelievable. All his muscles were tense, and he was able to change direction abruptly, and then we see Dockett just fly past him! My God!"
Darnell Dockett jumped high like a flying squirrel, soaring in the wind, but in the end, he fell heavily to the ground like a bag of potatoes, kicking up large patches of grass, clumsy and disheveled.
"After the fake move, Lynch accelerates again, moving to the right. Dockett has already lost his balance and has no chance. The tackle that was supposed to be a sure thing ends up being nothing. There are no other opponents near Lynch!"
"Marcus Lynch! Marcus Lynch! Without a doubt, Lynch runs into the end zone, completing a 30-yard running touchdown! The San Francisco 49ers have taken the lead! After scoring another touchdown, the 49ers have successfully taken the lead! My God, this is a 30-yard rushing touchdown! It's just too spectacular!"
The roars and cheers of the commentators sounded especially harsh in the silence of the University of Phoenix Stadium. Although they were reluctant to admit it, people had more or less expected to lose another touchdown, as the San Francisco 49ers' offense was on fire today. But they didn't expect to lose the second touchdown so embarrassingly, so easily, and so awkwardly. A four-yard short pass and a run...and it was a touchdown.
After the San Francisco 49ers' offense got back on the field, they scored another touchdown in less than 70 seconds. Moreover, in both touchdowns, Marcus broke free from tackles multiple times and broke through the defense multiple times. The unstoppable offensive momentum was a slap in the face for the home team and the home crowd. It was so unexpected and shocking that the home fans were momentarily silent, a little dazed. Was this still the same team they had beaten last time?
After scoring the touchdown, Marcus didn't celebrate. Instead, he hugged the football and went back to the front of the end zone, roaring at the prone Dockett. "Ah! Ahhh!" He didn't say anything, just roared ferociously and brutally, like an angry lion venting his frustration.
When they lined up, Marcus was standing next to Lu Ke and saw all of Dockett's expressions and demeanor. He knew that Dockett was a pain, and a shameless one at that. His unscrupulous tactics on the field were truly despicable. Now, they had responded with a touchdown, the most powerful response, and then Marcus let out all his anger. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Dockett, as if he could tear his opponent to shreds with just a single twitch of his finger.
Dockett buried his head in the grass, annoyed and frustrated. The last play was a humiliating blow, and he was too ashamed to raise his head. Then he heard the angry roar, and when he looked up, he saw Marcus's distorted face, which instantly ignited Dockett's anger. Dockett immediately stood up and shoved Marcus, and the spark instantly ignited the gasoline. It seemed a fight was about to break out, but Logan and Williams quickly grabbed Marcus, and two other Cardinals defenders also grabbed Dockett, preventing another conflict.
"This game is definitely full of tension. The two teams almost got into another fight. The players on both sides are very impulsive. This division rivalry is a life-or-death battle now. I don't know if the upcoming flags and conflicts will affect the flow of the game. We can only hope that both sides can focus on the game and compete with their strength."
After Teddy expressed his hope, he asked Kirk for his professional opinion on the current situation on the field while the two teams' special teams were getting ready.
"Now we can feel that the 49ers' offense has a slight advantage. It's not just the score. It's their control over the rhythm of the entire game. They are showing more confidence, which has caused the Cardinals' defense to be unable to keep up with the rhythm. It seems that the situation from the last game has been reversed."
"On the other hand, the Cardinals' offense has still not been able to show their strength. Fitzgerald is still the best player, but if they can't find an effective way to move the ball, their advantage will be slowly eroded. Their other teammates need to step up and give Fitzgerald more support."
As they were talking, the San Francisco 49ers' special teams kicked the extra point, and the score was 10:14. Then, the Cardinals' offense came back onto the field, and Kirk's words were proven true.
The first interception of the game finally came. It was from the San Francisco 49ers' inside linebacker, NaVorro Bowman, who intercepted a pass from Skelton in the middle of the field. Because Skelton's pass arc was too low, Bowman jumped high and intercepted the football as if he were blocking a shot in basketball. But unlike a block, he didn't swat the football away; he controlled it in his hands, successfully making an interception.
The Cardinals' offense was on the field for less than three minutes, barely getting close to midfield, and then they had to leave, giving the 49ers a perfect starting position for their offense. The situation was getting worse and worse.
After getting on the field again, the first play was... amusing. After the snap, Lu Ke faked a run and passed the ball. He let Marcus run forward, and then he didn't throw the ball immediately. Instead, he kept the defense at bay with a screen pass. Marcus and the entire offensive line moved to the right, while Lu Ke moved quickly to the left.
As the defenders were about to get to him, Lu Ke raised his hand and threw the football to Michael Crabtree. It was a six-yard short pass. Crabtree used a fake to break away from his defender, Richard Marshall, and made a catch easily. Then, he adjusted his feet and accelerated, continuing to move forward. He ran another six yards along the sideline with his powerful run. A defender came to cover and pushed Crabtree out of bounds in time, preventing a bigger loss of yards. Even so, the San Francisco 49ers still got a first down.
However, Lu Ke and Crabtree were not the focus of this play. All eyes were on the other side. With the fake run and pass, both Lu Ke and Marcus became the center of attention. Marcus's realistic running motion was misleading, and Dockett's first assumption was that Marcus had the ball. So, Dockett chased after Marcus relentlessly, but when he got closer, he realized that Marcus had no football. He immediately came to a sudden stop and turned around, trying to accelerate again, not giving up on Lu Ke easily.
But he was in too much of a hurry. His foot slipped, and he fell face-first, hitting his teammate, inside linebacker Reggie Walker, and also tripping another teammate, Calais Campbell, who was moving sideways to the left. The entire defensive line looked like... "A line of dominoes," Teddy couldn't help but laugh softly. He immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, the accident on the field was too sudden. Please forgive my wording. But it's clear that the Cardinals' defense is trying to get it together and put more pressure on their opponents, but it doesn't seem to be working."
When watching the replay again, the smiles still couldn't be controlled. Dockett made a rookie's mistake and caused a humorous moment, which was rare on the field. But for the home fans, it was not funny at all.
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