Offense wins games, and defense wins championships. This same saying also applies to the football field. The Baltimore Ravens are a team that excels at defense. Their tough defensive style sweeps across the league, striking fear into their opponents. The key player in this defense is Ray Lewis, known as "The Ray Lewis."
This middle linebacker was selected by the Ravens in the first round, 26th overall, in 1996, which began his legendary and brilliant career. Lewis is undoubtedly one of the greatest middle linebackers in league history, and it wouldn't be a stretch to remove the "one of." Even though he hasn't retired yet, he has already secured a spot in the Hall of Fame. Since entering the league in 1996, he has been selected to the Pro Bowl every year, except for his rookie season and the 2002 and 2005 seasons, when he was injured.
Every single year! In other words, as long as Lewis is on the field, he is the undisputed king of the Baltimore Ravens. Every team must take him seriously. In addition, when the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl in the 2000 season, the Super Bowl MVP was Ray Lewis. It is no exaggeration to say that the soul of other teams may be the quarterback, but the soul of the Ravens is definitely Lewis.
He is a middle linebacker who can change the outcome of a game. In addition to tackling and blitzing, he is also skilled at sacking, intercepting, forcing fumbles, and even returning them for a touchdown. He is also the fastest defensive player in history to get 30 sacks and 30 interceptions, and he has set a series of other amazing historical records.
The Baltimore Ravens, just like the Pittsburgh Steelers in their prime, win games with defense! In 2008, the team got a new look when a young 46-year-old coach, John Harbaugh, took over as head coach for the first time in his career. In the draft, he selected quarterback Joe Flacco with the 18th pick in the first round to build a dynasty. In addition to their defense, their weak offense finally started to improve. Three consecutive years in the playoffs are the best proof of that!
It is worth mentioning that John Harbaugh is the older brother of San Francisco 49ers' head coach Jim Harbaugh. The two brothers are only one year apart, and both have become representative head coaches in the league, writing another legendary story besides the Manning family. When Harbaugh officially took over the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason this year, this "brother rivalry" became a major focus. When the schedule was being made, the league did not have high hopes for the San Francisco 49ers' strong rise, but they still scheduled this game as a Thursday night game. The main highlight was the family feud between the two head coaches. It was like the "Manning Bowl," a matchup between Peyton Manning and Eli Manning that happens once every four years. Because they are in different conferences, their divisional matchups rotate every four years.
But after the season started, a surprise emerged. The Baltimore Ravens were still strong with a 7-3 record so far, and the San Francisco 49ers emerged as a dark horse with an 8-2 record. The gap between these two teams was much smaller than expected. After the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants, the San Francisco 49ers once again faced a tough matchup against a top team. And this one was even more difficult.
For the San Francisco 49ers, the situation was even more urgent. After an unexpected home loss, they were traveling to an away game. First, the Thursday night game disrupted their preparation rhythm, and then they had to face their biggest and most powerful opponent. Most importantly, this was the first time this season that the 49ers had faced a truly strong defensive team. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense was no longer at its peak.
In other words, this was a "battle of opposing forces," where one side's spear attacks the other side's shield. The ultimate question was whether the spear was sharper or the shield was stronger. The San Francisco 49ers had to quickly regroup and get back into form. For Lu Ke and the offense, this was the real test—a playoff-level test!
A Thursday night game is always a big deal, with the entire league's attention focused on it. Now, because of all the off-field factors, the attention had skyrocketed. The most important thing was that this was the first time the famous undrafted Chinese quarterback was appearing on a national TV broadcast. In the past three months, the news about Lu Ke had been a buzz for a long time, and the name "Skywalker" was well-known. Although the game against the Detroit Lions was a web broadcast, and the game against the New York Giants was replayed multiple times, the significance of a Thursday night game was completely different, and people's expectations were naturally rising. All of this made this Thursday night game a natural topic generator even before it officially started.
Even the league was no exception, heavily promoting it. Some even said that this could be a "potential Super Bowl matchup"—the "Harbaugh Bowl"—which gave this game a semi-official status as the focus of the week. Although the San Francisco 49ers had just suffered an unexpected loss, their consistent performance throughout the season still left a deep impression on people and built confidence. This was reflected in the opinions of many industry commentators, who did not become one-sided because of this loss.
On the "Inside the League" show, the analysts were also hesitant. They generally believed that this would be a 50/50 game, with too many factors determining the outcome. It was very likely that, like the New York Giants game, an unexpected event would decide the final outcome. In the end, six commentators chose the Baltimore Ravens, including Charles, because their defense was still tough and Ray Lewis was in his prime. Moreover, defense always wins games. Four commentators chose the San Francisco 49ers because of their offense's versatility and complexity, especially Lu Ke's intelligence and composure, and their more balanced overall strength. Interestingly, this time, Charles did not start a betting pool. After the disastrous "Across the Pacific" incident, he needed to lay low for a while. Deep down, he also knew that the outcome of this game was very close, and if he rashly started a betting pool, he would likely be digging his own grave. He would not willingly send himself to the chopping block.
From the side, you could see how close and intense this matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens was. Everything depended on their performance on the field! As the regular season entered the second half, the fight for a playoff spot was heating up. Every game could determine the direction of the playoff race. Although a playoff spot seemed highly likely for both the 49ers and the Ravens, they still had to give it their all. What's more, this game could also be considered a playoff tune-up. No one is fighting to get into the playoffs just to be a one-and-done. It was certain that both teams would give their all to win! Another big battle was about to begin!
...
"Ouch." Sitting in the broadcast booth as a bystander, Teddy couldn't help but gasp, his brows furrowed as he winced. "This hit was really vicious. Ray Lewis just ripped open a path, cut in from the blind side, and wrapped his arms around Lu Ke's waist, slamming him to the ground. Lu Ke had no chance, no chance at all!"
"Ouch!" Halfway through his commentary, the replay started on the TV screen. When he saw Lewis's sack on Lu Ke, Teddy couldn't help but exclaim, interrupting his own commentary. His entire face was wrinkled up, and he gasped again. "Ouch! It's too brutal, too ruthless. Lu Ke looks like a paper doll that just got shredded."
At this moment, M&T Bank Stadium was in an uproar, with home fans cheering for Ray Lewis's excellent performance. A powerful sack is undoubtedly the heaviest and most effective blow to an opponent's offense. Killing the quarterback at the source is undoubtedly the best way to hit back. For the Ravens, this was their favorite rhythm. Their powerful blitzes and collisions, like a flood, would disorient the opponent's offensive line.
But for the referee, the collision just now was not so pleasant. "The referee threw a yellow flag. This is definitely a yellow flag foul, roughing the passer. Not only was the tackle too vicious, but the tackling position was also too low. From the slow-motion replay, the referee's call is accurate. A tackle like that could easily cause an injury to the quarterback."
"God, the situation is really bad now. Lu Ke is still lying on the ground, not moving. We have no way of knowing if he is injured. There's nothing wrong with this yellow flag call, but if the 49ers lose their starting quarterback, that's a loss that a yellow flag can't make up for."
"The San Francisco 49ers' offensive players have surrounded Lewis, and there's some pushing and shoving on the field. The Ravens' players have also rushed over. The referee is trying to control the game, but the situation is a bit out of control. Ouch!" Halfway through the commentary, seeing the replay of the sack again, Teddy still couldn't help but exclaim, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Although football is a sport of powerful collisions, witnessing those hits of flesh on flesh still makes a bystander wince.
"The first quarter is in its latter half. This is Ray Lewis's second sack of the game. The Ravens are showing excellent defensive form today, giving the 49ers' offense very few opportunities. Lu Ke has very limited time to even throw the ball. Now, the game's rhythm has entered the Ravens' most familiar mode."
At this moment, Kirk interrupted Teddy's commentary and said loudly, "Lu Ke is getting up. The San Francisco 49ers' quarterback is on his feet. He jumped a few times and raised his hand to signal that he's okay. This is good news! Thank God."
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