Chapter 736: A Decisive Choice
"Hut!"
"Absolute Footwork!"
At the snap, Lu Ke used a special skill. He lined up in a shotgun formation for a passing play, but it was just a smokescreen. The real offensive play was neither a pass nor a run. To be precise, it was a run, but Marcus Lynch was not the one running.
First second.
Lu Ke's feet pretended to be adjusting their rhythm, moving laterally to the left, looking for a target. But immediately, he saw the wolf-like Clay Matthews, who had once again broken through Joe Staley's block.
Although Staley couldn't stop Matthews, he still used his strength to push hard, forcing Matthews to stumble back and take a bigger arc to enter the pocket, which also bought Staley himself time for a secondary defense.
In today's matchup, Staley's performance far exceeded expectations.
In his line of sight, Matthews was rapidly getting closer, charging at him like a tornado. The face hidden in his helmet was sinister and twisted, like a devil from hell, opening its jaws. A bloody smell rushed toward him, and all life forces began to tremble and were in jeopardy.
But Lu Ke's steps were not panicked at all. With a graceful move to the left, like a ballerina's soft steps, he agilely and nimbly shifted his position, avoiding Matthews's head-on charge. Then he suddenly shifted his weight backward—not forward, but backward.
In his pupils, he could clearly see that Matthews's ferocious first dive landed on an empty space. This forced Matthews to immediately start a second burst, forcing his feet to take another step forward, trying for a second tackle. But the force of the previous tackle was so fierce that his balance began to waver.
Second second.
Staley violently collided with Matthews. Lu Ke's feet took another small half-step back, barely avoiding the "car accident." He only felt a hurricane rise out of nowhere, creating a huge wave of chaos.
One horizontal, one vertical. Two different forces collided head-on. This time, the vertical Staley had the upper hand, bulldozing Matthews out of the way. Both of them stumbled and disappeared from Lu Ke's sight at the same time.
Lu Ke didn't stop. He moved to the right, made a graceful move, and got around the main area of the car accident. Then he took big lateral steps to the left, completely leaving the protection of the pocket. The tumultuous crowd in the short-pass area and the wide-open end zone were now in front of him.
Defensive end Mike Neal noticed the situation on this side immediately. He tried to get around Mike Iupati, but his body was completely blocked by Iupati. The burst of power took Iupati by surprise, causing him to be pushed back. Neal, like a bulldozer, pushed Iupati toward Lu Ke.
The distance was too close. In just a step, Lu Ke's shoulder could already feel the force of the collision through Iupati. His body's balance began to shake violently, as if it wasn't two players colliding but two mountains.
He quickly began to adjust his feet with small steps, easily avoiding Neal's arm, which was reaching through the block. At the same time, a gust of wind came from the left—
The fallen Matthews was trying to grab Lu Ke's ankle.
Lu Ke took continuous high-stepping strides, moving forward with an awkward and exaggerated motion, like a beautiful tango in a raging storm. His seemingly ordinary footwork created a breathtaking arc, narrowly avoiding Matthews's secondary coverage. Then his steps became light.
Third second.
The path in front of him was now wide open. This was because the Packers' defense hadn't realized that this was a quarterback run. No one had expected Lu Ke to run with the ball himself. With five different receiving options pulling defenders away, all the defensive players were busy locking down their zones. The end zone was in turmoil, but the front of the end zone was calm.
Having passed Matthews and Neal, there were no more obstacles in front of Lu Ke.
With a few easy steps, without any collision, contact, or risk, Lu Ke's running with the ball finally looked less awkward. He even seemed to have a hint of the elegance and freedom of a stroll. He nimbly entered the end zone, and then he could see the defenders swarming toward him like a tide.
But it was too late.
Two-point conversion, successful.
Faced with a highly difficult two-point conversion, the 49ers didn't hesitate. From the first second of the play, this was a quarterback run. The entire drive and setup were exceptionally clever. The two offensive linemen, Staley and Iupati, played a crucial role in clearing the way. Although it seemed risky, it was actually very stable. With Lu Ke's unexpected quarterback run, they successfully scored another two points.
Thus, the score was now 26-36. The gap had widened to ten points in one go.
Both teams attempted a two-point conversion. The Packers failed, while the 49ers succeeded.
This direct and sharp contrast was a microcosm of the game so far. Both teams had undoubtedly given a high-level, spectacular performance, but the subtle differences in the details, accumulated bit by bit, had slowly given the visiting 49ers the upper hand. The pendulum of control had slowly tilted in their favor.
In the end, a gap that could have been overcome with one drive now required two.
At this point, six minutes had passed in the fourth quarter. The time left for the Green Bay Packers was getting shorter and shorter, and the difficulty of winning was increasing. In a showdown between top experts, details are the key to success or failure.
Aaron Rodgers, who had carried the Packers to victory time and time again, once again stepped up bravely!
For three consecutive drives, the 49ers' defense unleashed an amazing force, fiercely rubbing the Packers' offensive line into the ground and forcing their opponents into third-and-long situations: one third-and-13, one third-and-6, and one third-and-9.
But at the critical moment, Rodgers stepped up all three times. Once with a run, once with a short pass to Greg Jennings, and once with a long pass to Randall Cobb. He successfully pulled them back from the brink all three times, advancing like a dance on a knife's edge. The feeling of impending collapse created a tragic and desolate madness in the stadium.
Then, on a first-and-10, Rodgers cleverly and cleanly found the veteran backup wide receiver Donald Driver, who had just come on the field, with a quick pass. The latter used his nimble running to easily get a first down.
But the good times didn't last long.
After that, there was an incomplete pass, a run that was stuffed, and a short pass for six yards before being tackled. In the blink of an eye, without even having time to catch their breath, the Packers were forced to a three-and-out, facing a fourth-and-4 situation. The game had just entered the official two-minute warning.
There were two minutes left in the game.
After the two-minute warning, the Packers decided to go for it on fourth down. They had no other option.
After the snap, Rodgers's offense was very bold and threatening. With just two steps of adjustment, he left the pocket and lined up for a run with the ball himself.
After all, it was just a fourth-and-4, which wasn't an impossible distance for Rodgers's unexpected run.
Rodgers was like a torch lit in a pitch-black night, instantly attracting all the defenders. The confrontation between the offensive and defensive lines was full of sparks.
The Packers' offensive line once again lost its focus and could barely withstand the opponent's charge. Rodgers's steps were like an elegant dance in a raging storm. The more chaotic it was, the more graceful it became. The more dangerous it was, the lighter he was. He completely stabilized the situation in the chaos and disaster by himself.
But at that moment, Rodgers made a quick, lateral pass with a light flick of his wrist. It seemed to have no power, but he used his wrist's control to create a graceful arc.
From left to right, Rodgers found tight end Jermichael Finley, who had not performed well in this game.
No one expected it to be Finley!
With no defender on him, Finley made a clean catch. He used a slight cut to avoid the close tackle of cornerback Carlos Rogers and then began to advance quickly along the right sideline.
"30-yard line! 25-yard line! 20-yard line!"
Amidst a flurry of exclamations, Finley's run burst forth with a powerful momentum. He created a mighty gust of wind, and all the pent-up energy in the stadium exploded at that moment.
With a teammate's block and screen, he narrowly avoided safety Dashon Goldson's coverage, once again breaking through the obstacles and block. Now there were no more obstacles in front of Finley. The entire backfield was wide open.
However, the defensive team chasing relentlessly behind him was still a magnificent sight. Finley showed a powerful burst of speed he had never had before. He ran faster and faster, continuously bursting out with an incredible amount of energy, as if he had been waiting the entire game to release it at this moment.
Before the opposing defenders could catch up to him, Finley rushed into the end zone with a lead of mere inches.
As soon as his feet entered the end zone, Finley was pushed out of bounds by two players.
But the touchdown was completed after all! It wasn't even a step away, but a hand's length away. Rodgers once again connected with his receiver to complete an unbelievable touchdown!
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