Chapter 868: A Tight Squeeze
"Quick short pass!"
"It's a six-yard short pass to Logan Newmann on the right side, closer to the middle! Newmann takes the ball and rushes forward! Whoa, he broke through the tackle from defensive end Chris Long! Missed tackle! Rams' cornerback Cortland Finnegan missed an important tackle! Newmann has gained some ground!"
"Safety Quintin Mikell is chasing him! Newmann! Newmann! Newmann! Quintin Mikell came up big! He pushed Newmann out of bounds in time, finally stopping the play before it could cause more damage! But even so, Newmann still managed to gain twenty-seven yards! My God!"
"The pass is to Michael Crabtree! Wait, a cross-route! Crabtree went toward the defender, and Randy Moss switched to the receiving position! Nice! Moss made the catch!"
"It's a twelve-yard pass over his shoulder! Lu Ke's pass is still very accurate! Facing a second and ten, Lu Ke's cool composure has earned them another first down!"
"Running play! After Marcus Lynch took the football, the offensive line opened a gap in the center. The combination of Mike Iupati, Jonathan Goodwin, and Anthony Davis showed their power again. They took the initiative to block and prevented the defensive linemen from getting into position, creating space for the run."
"Lynch! Lynch is still pushing forward! He's past the offensive line! He's past... wait, two defenders closed in! Lynch, nice! With a shoulder bump, he broke through the tackle of the Rams' number ninety-eight, Kendall Langford! A run! He's still running!"
"Wow! Amazing! It's a seven-yard run! For the San Francisco 49ers, who have not been doing well in their running game in the past few weeks, this is definitely an excellent run. It's second and two, which eases the pressure on Lu Ke's passing game!"
This was the San Francisco 49ers' second offensive drive.
The St. Louis Rams' second offensive drive just now lasted for five minutes and twelve seconds. They advanced to the 49ers' nineteen-yard line but unfortunately got a three-and-out. They sent in their special teams. This year's sixth-round rookie kicker, Greg Zuerlein, came on and kicked a thirty-six-yard field goal, scoring another three points.
The San Francisco 49ers' offense, which came on next, maintained a high level of concentration, and their offensive efficiency was amazing.
In just eight plays, they had one incomplete pass, which put them in a long-yardage third down situation. But the offense successfully converted the third down, got another first down, and quickly advanced into the opponent's red zone with a more aggressive approach. In several consecutive plays, they created defensive mismatches after the catch, allowing the receivers to keep advancing.
In just over three minutes, the San Francisco 49ers had a chance to score a touchdown from up close.
With the ball in the red zone, the St. Louis Rams' defense suddenly came on strong on the first down. They launched a blitz without warning, with eight defenders against five offensive linemen, giving them an absolute advantage in numbers. They compressed the front line as soon as the ball was snapped, leaving Lu Ke with no time to observe his receivers. He could only scramble with the ball.
To avoid a sack, in a hurry, he threw the ball toward where Crabtree was, but the ball's arc was completely out of control and flew out of bounds. The next second, the defenders were already in front of Lu Ke—thankfully, they maintained some sanity and didn't hit the quarterback. Instead, they hit the brakes in time.
It was second down with six yards to the end zone.
"Set!"
Logan focused completely on the game. After he heard Lu Ke's snap count, he immediately rushed forward. He didn't pay attention to his teammates' routes. Instead, he sprinted toward the outside sideline. After crossing paths with Ginn, he was already near the right corner of the end zone.
In fact, Logan didn't even look at the defenders' positions. After taking a few small steps into the end zone, he used his right foot as a pivot point and suddenly changed direction, moving horizontally to the left toward the center. Then he could see defenders moving around him.
In front of him was a densely defended area, like a human wall.
But Logan was in great form today. It was as if he was divinely guided. He could clearly see the defenders' movements and directions in his line of sight. Among the dense crowd, he accurately found a small gap. Without any hesitation, Logan moved like he was using a teleportation spell, quickly weaving through the crowd and charging toward the goal post.
People, people, people.
Logan was not affected at all. His light footsteps squeezed out a gap in the dense crowd, a small, fleeting gap. But Logan knew that this was his chance!
Everything happened in just two seconds. The intensity and tension of a red zone drive were on full display. At this moment, the Rams' end zone was a complete mess. It seemed like there were no openings, but there were openings everywhere. This was the time to test the strength of the offensive and defensive players.
With a turn and a jump, Logan leaped high into the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two defenders jumping with him, but Logan had already anticipated this.
Before he jumped, he extended his right arm to block the safety Quintin Mikell, who was on his left. He used the impact from the collision to adjust his body. As he jumped, he used his right shoulder to bump the cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who was on his right, using his full body weight to squeeze him out of position.
His upward momentum was slightly affected, but Logan relied on his talent to stretch his body to the limit. He raised his hands high, and all the muscles in his body remained relaxed. There was no tension at all. His fingertips were extended to the max, as if he could feel the breeze. This made the feeling of time standing still even more vivid.
Quintin was still bumping him. Although he had lost the first step, he was still using his body weight to push on Logan's ribs, trying to disrupt Logan's rhythm.
Cortland had already lost his position. He grabbed Logan's helmet in time, trying to pull him down hard, but in the heat of the moment, his fingers couldn't control their grip. He wasn't grabbing him accurately, so he could only flail around on the helmet's facemask, trying to block Logan's vision.
This was undoubtedly a foul.
A yellow flag had been thrown, but Cortland couldn't care less now. There were only four receivers in the end zone. If they couldn't stop Logan, they would likely give up a touchdown.
Furthermore, a foul in the red zone, no matter how many yards were penalized, the worst-case scenario was that the opponent would get a first down a few inches from the end zone. A touchdown could never be awarded for a foul.
So, Cortland didn't care. A foul was a foul. Stopping the touchdown was the most important thing.
For Logan, the situation couldn't be worse. His vision was blurry, his balance was shaky, and his jump was stuttering. He couldn't even accurately predict where the football would land, let alone catch it. But even in this extreme situation, Logan's balance was not compromised. He showed the tight end's athletic ability to the fullest.
Even though he couldn't see, Logan gritted his teeth and tightened his fingertips. He relied entirely on the chemistry he and Lu Ke had developed over years of training and games to make an educated guess about where Lu Ke's pass would land. Then, he put his hands on the football's path.
Whoosh!
Logan could vaguely feel the intensity of the situation. A feeling of desolation and tension suddenly emerged. The entire Candlestick Park seemed to have held its breath, and all eyes were on Lu Ke's pass.
This was a soft throw, about ten or eleven yards. The football didn't have much power. Lu Ke was using his wrist to generate spin, carefully handling the landing spot, direction, and angle. He had perfected the art of passing accuracy, which reminded people of the skill challenge at this year's Pro Bowl.
Slowly, the football seemed to hang in mid-air, barely moving forward. All the defensive players raised their heads high, wondering: If I jumped, could I intercept it?
But in reality, the football was flying much faster than they thought. It had already passed them before they could jump, and it accurately found...
Logan, Quintin, and Cortland!
Under the gaze of millions of eyes, a pair of powerful hands reached out. The gold wristband on his right wrist shone brightly in the afternoon sun, looking very noticeable. All the veins on his forearms bulged, showing the powerful explosive force in his muscles.
Then, his large palms caught the football. He barely held onto the ball with his fingertips on the front half of his palms. The power from his fingertips was released unreservedly. One could vaguely feel his firm resolve. But... the football didn't move at all. It was firmly in his hands.
Logan knew he had caught it! But he didn't relax at all. He didn't lose himself in the moment! Because he realized that he was close to the end line when he jumped, and with the two players bumping him, he would keep being pushed back. If he wasn't careful, he might go out of bounds, and the catch would be illegal, so it wouldn't count as a touchdown!
So, it wasn't over yet!
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