Chapter 1065: Down on Their Luck
"0-17."
Just six seconds into the second quarter, the visiting Atlanta Falcons scored another touchdown, changing the score to 0-16. Then, kicker Matt Bryant came on and successfully kicked the extra point, further widening the score gap.
This game progression was completely unexpected. Not because the Atlanta Falcons were far ahead, but because they were able to get such a huge lead.
Compared to the closely contested NFC Championship games of the past five years, a difference like this was truly shocking. The commentators couldn't even find their shattered glasses. What's more, the team that was trailing was the undefeated regular season San Francisco 49ers, which made it even more surprising and stunning!
What in the world happened?
In the first quarter, quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones dominated the game together.
As a big wide receiver, Julio's physical advantage, ability to get open, strength in a collision, and catching ability were all his strong points. To be blunt, he was an enhanced version of Michael Crabtree, with his overall ability rising a notch. In his matchup against cornerback Chris Culliver, Julio had a complete advantage. Even with safety Donte Whitner coming over to help, they still couldn't completely shut down Julio's catches and runs after the catch.
Five catches and a hundred yards.
This was Julio's stat line in the first quarter. For any wide receiver, a hundred yards in a single game is considered a top-tier performance, and Julio reached this level in just one quarter. What's even more incredible is that his average yards per catch was 20 yards. This ability is enough to rank among the best in history.
Julio showed a dominant ability!
With the power of just one person, he completely destroyed the 49ers' secondary defense. As was mentioned before the game, the team's defensive front was stronger than their secondary defense. The relatively weak secondary defense would face a strong attack from the Atlanta Falcons' wide receivers, and the first quarter proved this point.
In the first drive of the game, Matt Ryan connected with Julio Jones on the left side for a 19-yard pass. Julio was able to get open and after a successful catch, used his sheer strength to shake off the defenders and continued to advance 27 yards before being tackled.
The first-and-10 play pushed them past the midfield, for a total of 46 yards, showing the Falcons' determination to win this game.
This kind of unstoppable performance reminded people of the godlike performance of Crabtree in the last divisional game, who bulldozed through the opponent's secondary defense, leaving the cornerbacks and safeties helpless and in a constant retreat. Julio was like that in the first quarter.
First drive: Ryan connected with Julio again, who made an 11-yard touchdown catch.Second drive: It was Julio again, who made a short catch and ran for 27 yards, helping the offense get into field goal range. Kicker Matt Bryant then made a 35-yard field goal.Third drive: Ryan first found tight end Tony Gonzalez for a 23-yard gain, which ended the first quarter. Then, in the second quarter, Ryan continued the drive and found Julio again, who gained a total of 20 yards, and they scored another touchdown.
In short, Julio Jones dominated the first quarter. Ryan's steady and accurate passes were always able to tear open the secondary defense at key moments. The stability of the short and medium passes ensured the success rate of the offense. Then, relying on Julio's "kill a god, kill a buddha" ability to break tackles, he truly crushed the 49ers' secondary defense.
Although the 49ers' defensive front continuously applied pressure and blitzed, creating huge pressure on the offensive line's pocket and repeatedly trying to break it, Ryan, relying on his accurate reads, was always able to get the pass off in time. He didn't even need to scramble out of the pocket; he could get the football out before a sack or a hit came. Then, he would leave the rest of the work to his receivers.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't that the 49ers' defense was playing badly; it was that Julio Jones was playing exceptionally well.
All three scores were directly related to Julio. If they were to vote for the best player of the game right now, Julio would undoubtedly get all the votes!
It can be said that the Atlanta Falcons fully utilized their strengths and tightly exploited their opponent's weaknesses, continuously increasing their momentum on the road. This was undoubtedly one of the Falcons' best and most perfect quarters of the season. It's no exaggeration to say that the 49ers' defense didn't see many opportunities.
17 points, two touchdowns, and one field goal. The Atlanta Falcons made a strong declaration: "We are not here to just show up for this NFC Championship!"
If the 49ers' defense was completely suppressed, then what was going on with their offense?
Last season, the young and fiery 49ers were still a bit unstable, and their performance often fluctuated greatly. There were also quite a few games where they fell behind in the first half. But this season, the 49ers, who had gradually gotten used to each other and matured, had a strong dominance. They would often get into a rhythm quickly in the first half and take an early lead.
What happened in this game?
Objectively speaking, an important premise that cannot be ignored is that the 49ers' offense only had two drives in the first quarter. Because the Falcons' offense played so well and ate up a lot of time, there were only five drives in the entire first quarter. The Falcons had the first and last drive, and the 49ers only had two drives in between.
After the Falcons scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game, Lu Ke led the team onto the field.
In their first drive, the 49ers' offense was not yet in its best rhythm. It wasn't that they weren't excited enough; they were overly excited. Even a veteran like Randy Moss overran his route twice. One time, it resulted in an incomplete pass, and the other time, he barely caught the football but didn't have enough space to gain more yards.
Lu Ke was still Lu Ke, fully focused and giving his all, playing according to the pre-game strategy. The offense had a balanced mix of passing and running plays. He tried one 23-yard deep pass, but Logan Newman overran his route and missed the catch. This made him realize that the offense was a bit too excited, so the subsequent plays were a bit more conservative, and he slowed down the tempo a bit.
But the subtle deviations could still be felt.
The 49ers' offense stumbled to the opponent's 39-yard line. On the next play, they ran for two yards and then had a three-yard gain on a short pass to Moss. Facing a third-and-five situation, Lu Ke suddenly chose a 12-yard medium pass, trying to find Crabtree and convert the first down.
Crabtree had already gotten open, but at the moment he was about to catch the ball, he stumbled and lost his position. His hand-eye coordination was also off, and the catch that was within his reach was missed, resulting in an incomplete pass and a three-and-out.
The 49ers' offense spent four minutes and 11 seconds on the field but unfortunately stopped at the 39-yard line. The risk of attempting a field goal from that distance was too high, so Jim Harbaugh had no choice but to punt.
Then, the Falcons made a field goal, widening the score gap to "0-10." The 49ers' offense then came on the field for the second time.
The progression of this drive was exactly the same as the first one. Even if it wasn't 100% identical, the subtle deviations caused by the fluctuation in their rhythm were the same.
The rhythm between Lu Ke and the receivers was always just a little bit off. The connection between the throw and the catch could still be made, but either Lu Ke's pass wasn't accurate enough, or the receiver's route wasn't run correctly. The space for continued advancement after the catch was obviously compressed by the defenders, and the offensive efficiency slowed down.
When the offense reached their own 46-yard line, luck was not on Lu Ke's side.
On a first-and-10 play, he suddenly chose a medium pass, trying to find Crabtree with a 12-yard pass. But at the moment he released the ball, Mike Iupati and Joe Staley bumped into each other and crashed into Lu Ke, affecting his passing vision. The arc of the pass was a bit off, and Crabtree was unable to adjust in time, missing the catch, which resulted in an incomplete pass.
On second-and-10, Lu Ke handed the ball to Frank Gore, choosing a run play. Lu Ke's defensive read was on point, and he used the offensive line to create an open lane for Gore, who successfully crossed the first down line. However, he fumbled the ball after a collision with a defender. Luckily, Gore's reaction speed was very fast, and he recovered the ball, or the situation would have been even worse.
On third-and-10, Lu Ke quickly got the ball out with a short pass to Logan, but Logan's route was run right into two defenders. After he made the catch, he was tackled to the ground after only three steps. He didn't even have time to burst out with speed. As a result, they were still four yards short of a first down. This wasn't a good opportunity to attempt a fourth-down conversion, so it was a three-and-out.
After that, the Atlanta Falcons came back on the field and continued their dominance. By the time the first quarter ended, they had already reached the 49ers' 20-yard line, and then the scene from the beginning happened. Just six seconds into the second quarter, they scored their second touchdown.
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