Chapter 758: Familiar Routine
"How was that? Was it shocking?"
"...Is it always like this?"
Faced with Emma's basic, amateur question, Leonardo chuckled. "Of course not. It's like a soccer game. Wait, you know what soccer is, right?"
Emma was British, where soccer's popularity surpassed that of rugby. Of course, its reach was also wider. So, Leonardo asked the question to make the explanation easier by using an analogy.
After noticing Emma's numb nod, Leonardo continued, "A soccer match can end with a super low score like '0-0,' and it's the same with football. It's actually not that easy to score. Ultimately, it depends on the players' performance and the flow of the game."
After a season, Leonardo was no longer clueless about football. Besides basketball, he was also starting to enjoy the sport. The reason he chose to come to the stadium to watch the game today was to support Lu Ke and also because he had some expectations.
Yes, Leonardo was also subtly starting to have some expectations for the 49ers' new season.
"However, from the looks of the first drive, Lu Ke is in great form today, and the game will be very exciting," Leonardo said with a smile, seeming to not notice the tension between Emma and Lu Ke. He added with a chuckle, "It looks like you're lucky today. You'll get to see a high-quality, exciting game."
Emma was speechless.
However, Leonardo was right about one thing. In this game, Lu Ke was indeed in excellent form!
The first drive ended with a touchdown. Afterward, the special teams, led by David Akers, kicked the extra point without any suspense, bringing the score to "7-0."
The Detroit Lions' offense, led by Matthew Stafford, then took the field, and the 49ers' defense, led by Patrick Willis, responded with a strong counterattack.
The Lions' star wide receiver "Megatron" Calvin Johnson became the main defensive target. 49ers' cornerback Carlos Rogers and safety Dashon Goldson teamed up to cover him closely, and in the first matchup, they completely locked down Calvin's running routes, forcing Stafford to choose other players as passing targets.
Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions' offense didn't seem to be able to get into the zone immediately. Although Calvin alone distracted two defensive players, the other offensive players were unable to capitalize on the numerical advantage.
After one running play was stopped, one pass was incomplete, and one pass was almost intercepted, the first three-and-out of the game appeared. The 49ers' defense cleanly sent their opponents off the field, once again giving their offense a chance to play.
Faced with such a good opportunity, the 49ers' offense, which hadn't had a chance to fully warm up yet, didn't rush. Instead, they chose to make steady progress.
With a short-pass strategy, combining both passes and runs, Lu Ke showed a completely different set of tactics than in the first drive. With four passes and three completions and three running plays, they unknowingly got three first downs. Then, they made a surprise medium-pass, finding Vernon Davis in the zone defense. Relying on Vernon's size advantage, he forced his way past the defensive player to complete the pass.
At this point, they had already crossed midfield.
The next two passes didn't go as expected. Faced with a third-and-four situation, Lu Ke used a play-action pass, successfully faking out the front-line defensive players and handing the ball off to Marcus Lynch.
Mike Iupati and Jonathan Goodwin on the offensive line cleverly opened a gap, clearing the way!
After Marcus got past the offensive and defensive lines, he faced two linebackers who were trying to surround him, forcing his way into the narrow space in the slot on his right.
At the critical moment, Logan made a crucial block, knocking away Ndamukong who was coming to assist, and gave Marcus valuable running space. After escaping a tackle, he continued to advance like thunder. With Vernon and Ginn escorting him, he not only successfully converted the third-and-four but also made a long run, ultimately rushing into the end zone and scoring another touchdown!
It was a thirty-eight-yard running touchdown!
In the new season, facing intense competition for the running back position, and also facing the "sophomore slump," Marcus proved with two consecutive excellent performances that he was still the undisputed number one running back on the San Francisco 49ers!
However, although Marcus was the one who scored the touchdown in this drive, his teammates' blocking and covering were also irreplaceable.
Furthermore, in the previous drives, the consistent implementation of a balanced pass-run offense, as well as the surprise attacks combining short and medium passes, disrupted the Detroit Lions' defense's rhythm and play-calling step by step. Facing a third-and-four situation, they unexpectedly chose to run the ball instead of passing.
Normally, with Marcus on the field for a third-down play, he would be used as a slot receiver. But in this case, Marcus returned to his roots and pushed forward as a running back, ending the standoff of this drive and scoring another touchdown for the home team.
As Akers steadily kicked the extra point, the score was already "14-0."
Last season, the Detroit Lions' foundation for making it to the playoffs was their offense. The game against the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round was a typical example. They stayed close for the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, they couldn't keep up with Drew Brees' sudden acceleration, and they ultimately lost the game by a large margin.
In other words, once the opponent's offense speeds up, if Matthew Stafford can't keep up with the pace and their own defense can't effectively resist, the Detroit Lions will fall into an endless passive state.
Of course, in the entire league, the number of offenses that can continuously speed up and apply pressure is very small. This is just a theory.
However, the San Francisco 49ers are one of the teams that have this ability.
After the game started, the 49ers' first two drives both ended in touchdowns, one with a super deep pass and one with a super run. The powerful offensive momentum left the Lions with no chance. They tore through the defense in a devastating way, and before a head-to-head confrontation could even be formed, they lightly completed the offensive task.
Subconsciously, the pressure to catch up on Stafford was gradually increasing.
The first drive ended with a three-and-out. The second drive was a little better, but they only barely crossed midfield. Then, Stafford's twenty-three-yard deep pass to Calvin was easily read by the defense.
Cornerback Carroll wasn't able to contain Calvin's position. In a one-on-one confrontation, Calvin, also known as "Megatron," still had the advantage. However, Carroll used his fingertips to tip the ball away, changing the football's trajectory. Dashon, who was standing nearby trying to assist, reacted instinctively, stretched out his hands, and with a tricky play, completed the interception.
The stadium erupted!
First drive, San Francisco 49ers touchdown. Detroit Lions three-and-out.
Second drive, San Francisco 49ers touchdown. Detroit Lions interception.
The first quarter was slowly coming to an end, and the Detroit Lions still hadn't recovered. They seemed to have been completely stunned by the 49ers.
The only thing worth celebrating was that after the interception, the 49ers' offense started from their own twenty-eight-yard line, but this drive had two penalties and two turnovers. The rhythm wasn't completely maintained. They stumbled to the opponent's forty-six-yard line and then unfortunately went three-and-out.
At this point, there were nine seconds left in the first quarter.
A forty-six-yard line. Normally, this would be a punt, because the distance to the goal is too far. After the punt ends, the first quarter would also end, and then they would wait for the second quarter to start.
But to everyone's surprise, Harbaugh sent in the field goal unit and, like a joke, chose to take a chance on a kick, having David Akers challenge a field goal attempt.
A field goal attempt from the forty-six-yard line, which means it was a sixty-three-yard field goal attempt.
It's well known that a field goal over fifty yards is already considered an ultra-long-distance challenge. Many kickers' maximum range may only be forty-five yards. Once it exceeds that, it becomes unstable, and the success rate drops sharply. It's the same principle as a quarterback's deep pass.
But now it's a field goal over sixty yards?
Are they sure this isn't a punt? Is Jim Harbaugh sure he knows what he's doing? This isn't a critical moment in the fourth quarter, nor is it a crucial drive that will decide the outcome. It was supposed to be a simple punt, but they inexplicably chose a bold, all-or-nothing attempt? What in the world is going on? Is Harbaugh crazy?
In league history, the record for the longest successful field goal is held by three players:
Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints in 1970, Jason Elam of the Denver Broncos in 1998, and Sebastian Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders in 2011.
The longest record is exactly sixty-three yards.
It's worth mentioning that Jason Elam and Sebastian Janikowski both set their records at the Denver Broncos' Mile High Stadium.
That's the home stadium with the highest elevation in the league, nicknamed "Mile High." It is famous for its thin air and strong winds. A kicker might miss a kick because of a headwind, but they might also create a miracle with a tailwind.
Today, David Akers was about to challenge the league record at Candlestick Park—tying the record for the longest field goal in history.
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