Chapter 644: You Can't Make Bricks Without Straw
"San Francisco 49ers, shotgun formation, snap!"
"The Giants only have three defensive players on the line of scrimmage. The 49ers' offensive line pocket protection is solid. Lu Ke is backpedaling quickly, calmly observing the receivers' routes. This is a basic two-by-two formation, but the 49ers' routes are full of variations."
"Newman and Williams on the right side do a cross-switch, which makes the defensive players shift their weight. Williams is advancing quickly toward the deep central area, while Newman is in the boundary area, facing a one-on-one situation with the cornerback. Newman, Newman is retreating and making a gesture to catch the ball."
"Lu Ke throws!"
"My God, not to the right, but to the left! The left side of the field is completely empty! Davis on the left ran horizontally toward the right along the linebackers' alignment line. All the defensive players on the left were drawn away. Now, on the left side, it's just a matchup between wide receiver Swain and cornerback Blackmon! An open space! The San Francisco 49ers' offense has created an open space with a beautiful route!"
"Swain! Brett Swain! He's adjusting his steps and making a gesture to catch the ball! This is a bullet pass, a bullet pass of about thirteen yards! Swain! Swain! Oh, my God, Swain and Blackmon have collided. He couldn't hold his position. He tapped the football and is still trying to complete the catch."
"Interception! After the football flies high, Blackmon is trying to make an interception! Blackmon! Blackmon!"
"My God! At the crucial moment, Swain pushed Blackmon away, preventing the interception. Blackmon couldn't control the football and missed the interception! Swain redeemed himself, avoiding losing the game by causing an interception! All of this is just too exciting and suspenseful! My heart is about to stop."
"What a shame, what a real shame!"
"With a brilliant route, the offense successfully created a trap and a one-on-one situation. But the practice squad's backup wide receiver, Brett Swain, lost his position and unfortunately missed the catch. He almost caused an interception. Thankfully, his vigilance at the last moment allowed him to push away cornerback Will Blackmon, which prevented the situation from getting worse."
"Even so, by missing this third-and-six conversion, the San Francisco 49ers are on the edge of a cliff. After this game, it will be hard to judge whether Lu Ke's pass choice was correct, after all, Swain and the team have had so little time to work together. Was this too risky? But we can't blame Lu Ke. He has done his best."
"Faced with such a terrible situation, Lu Ke is still persevering, but the time and space left for the San Francisco 49ers are getting less and less. Now, the momentum is in the hands of the New York Giants."
Yes, Lu Ke was at a loss.
In the middle of the second quarter, Kyle Williams made a catch in the end zone, but he fumbled the ball and missed the touchdown. After that, the game slowly slid into a bottomless abyss. Although it was slow, it couldn't be stopped.
The New York Giants' offense, led by Eli Manning, then showed a good comeback momentum. They advanced all the way to the San Francisco 49ers' seventeen-yard line before they went three-and-out. Their kicker, Lawrence Tynes, successfully kicked a thirty-four-yard field goal, further closing the score.
At halftime, the score was 17-10. The home team, the San Francisco 49ers, still had a touchdown lead, which meant that the outcome was still uncertain for the second half.
After the second half started, the New York Giants had the first possession, but they couldn't quickly find their rhythm and went three-and-out. The San Francisco 49ers' offense, which came on next, showed a more steady presence and didn't seem to be affected much by the first half. Unfortunately, after crossing midfield, the passing and receiving still lacked a bit of chemistry, and they also went three-and-out.
The game was chaotic and tense. It was a mess, and the offenses of both teams punted more often than not. They couldn't open up the game. The special teams became the main characters of the game, but the game was dull and boring.
Especially for the San Francisco 49ers, the situation was even more difficult.
At halftime, the injured players were examined. Ginn was sent to the hospital for further checks. The severity of his injury was still uncertain. Crabtree didn't pass the concussion test and was not allowed to play in the second half. Anthony had a sprained knee, which wasn't serious, but it was difficult for him to play for a while.
So, three key players were confirmed to be out of the game.
When it rains, it pours. The unexpected events of this game were not over yet.
After a successful pass connection, Logan seemed to have an injured calf and had to go off the field for a checkup. The team had no choice but to send in backup tight end Justin Peelle to fill Logan's spot.
Faced with a torn-up offense, Lu Ke was still leading the broken team, limping forward, without falling too far behind or collapsing. This could be considered a miracle. The silver lining was that Logan wasn't seriously injured. After resting for a few plays, he was back on the field, replacing Peelle.
But the repeated unexpected events slowly magnified the instability of the young players. The flow of the entire offense was fatally hit and became choppy. Even with Lu Ke gritting his teeth and persevering, he was powerless.
On the other side of the field, Eli Manning seemed much more experienced. They were also affected by unexpected events. A total of four players were injured and left the game—two from the offense and two from the defense. Two of them were also confirmed to not be able to return to the field. But Eli Manning's rich game experience played an important role in the chaotic situation.
With five minutes and seven seconds left in the third quarter, Eli Manning unexpectedly chose a medium-pass blitz. He made a seventeen-yard pass connection to the team's number three tight end, Bear Pascoe, and successfully scored a touchdown, tying the game for the New York Giants.
Less than four minutes into the fourth quarter, Eli Manning once again used a running back-receiving play. Ahmad Bradshaw, who had an excellent season, successfully completed a six-yard short pass and then ran for twenty-seven yards to score a touchdown, successfully giving the visiting team their first lead of the game.
The score was 17-24, and the visiting team, the New York Giants, had the lead.
All the memories became clear. The fragments of the Week 10 regular-season game once again appeared in his mind. It was so similar. The San Francisco 49ers had the lead, the New York Giants made a crazy comeback in the second half, the game was turned around in the fourth quarter, and the final moments were a tightrope walk.
The difference was that this time, there was still plenty of time left in the game, a full eleven minutes and more. Everything was still up in the air.
The difference was that this time, Lu Ke had lost two important receiving options, Ted Ginn and Michael Crabtree. He had to awaken the receiving touch of Brett Swain and Kyle Williams. Otherwise, he was like a clever cook who couldn't make a meal without ingredients. Lu Ke was powerless.
So, what would the result of this game be? The same? Or different?
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
The game clock was ticking down quickly. Just now, Swain had wasted their last chance.
It was third and six on the opponent's forty-one-yard line.
Lu Ke made a desperate throw. Because the pressure on Logan and Vernon was so strong, Harbaugh took a different approach and designed a play with Swain as the target. If he could complete the catch, the offense could continue the drive. Whether it was a field goal or a touchdown, anything was possible, and the possibility of victory was still in their hands.
But, that was just an "if."
After Swain missed the catch, the third-and-six conversion failed.
And now, trying a fourth-and-six was just too risky. Neither Harbaugh nor Lu Ke had that confidence. Just look at the progress of the game in the second half. They hadn't scored at all.
The closest they came to scoring was when the offense advanced to the opponent's twenty-three-yard line and unfortunately went three-and-out. But this was already in field goal range. David Akers, who had only missed one field goal of over fifty yards this season, was considered the most stable part of the team. At a crucial moment, facing a forty-yard field goal, he...
Missed it.
And it was an absurdly wide miss.
In the suffocatingly tense moments, everything became different, just like the AFC Championship that had just ended before this game. The Baltimore Ravens still had a chance to force the game into overtime at the last minute, but an absurdly bad field goal miss ruined the entire game. No one wanted to see such a mistake, but no one could avoid it.
So, Harbaugh gave up on the risk and put his trust in his defense. The special teams came on to punt, and the possession returned to the New York Giants.
With two minutes and forty-four seconds left in the game, everything depended on Eli Manning's performance. All the hopes of the San Francisco 49ers were placed on the shoulders of the defense led by Patrick Willis.
"Sack! Patrick Willis and Justin Smith teamed up to sack Eli Manning! They successfully ruined the New York Giants' plan to run out the clock. Three-and-out. The San Francisco 49ers' defense made a golden sack at the last moment of the game, forcing the opponent's offense to go three-and-out!"
"Twenty-six seconds. There are twenty-six seconds left in the game. This could very well be the last chance for the San Francisco 49ers' offense this season! My God, the situation from Week 10 of the regular season is happening again. Last time, Lu Ke scored a game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock and came back to win the game. What about this time?"
"Twenty-six seconds, no timeouts. The San Francisco 49ers are truly on the edge of a cliff!"
🗒️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!