Chapter 869: A Merciless Blow
Whoosh, whoosh. The sounds of the wind and waves in Candlestick Park seemed to be surging, reflecting an unprecedented tension. One could even clearly feel that all the Niners fans were holding their breath.
Logan, however, was completely focused on his receiving motion. His body was stretched to the limit, and his hands held the football high as if it were the Holy Grail, but all his attention was on his legs.
In the midst of the chaos, Logan's feet landed on the ground. The weight of his upper body was completely tilted, but his feet were like nails, firmly planted in place. Even though his entire upper body was already flying out, he still pressed his center of gravity down hard, like a ton of weight. The power from his core and legs was perfectly combined.
Cortland and Quintin had still not given up. The two of them were working together, using their body weight to hit Logan.
It was one against two. Logan's balance was completely gone, and his legs were forced to lift. But the potential of a top-tier receiver was revealed at this moment.
Time seemed to slow down by ten or a hundred times. Everything was in slow motion, and one could clearly see that Logan had his toes pointed straight. Under the strong push of the wind and rain, he still managed to control his body, using his toes to drag a long line on the grass, like a snail.
Little by little. Little by little.
Logan tenaciously used his toes to drag his body. He gritted his teeth and used every last bit of strength to stay within the end line, until he reached his physical limit and couldn't hold his muscles anymore. Only then did he relax and lunge forward. In a self-protective posture, he rolled forward, getting rid of all the remaining force, but he held on to the football firmly and tightly.
The whole world became silent.
"Beep!"
A long whistle pierced the sky. The end zone referee raised his hands high like a tall green pine, signaling a touchdown!
In an instant, this broke the stadium's deadlock. With a loud boom, the entire golden ocean boiled over with great force. The sound was so overwhelming that the entire Candlestick Park exploded, sweeping through the entire city and the Bay Area like a tornado.
Not only Candlestick Park, but the broadcast booth was also in a frenzy.
"Logan Newmann! Logan Newmann! My God, Newmann is in great form in this afternoon's game!"
"In the red zone, Newmann used an outward run to trick the defenders. Then he stopped and turned, cutting horizontally into the middle. He created a small gap near the goal post's end line. It was a less than one-yard, man-to-man coverage gap! But Lu Ke saw it!"
"With two defenders double-teaming him, Newmann used his physical advantage to get ahead by half a step. In the face of constant harassment and disruption from the opponents, which even led to a defensive holding penalty, he still completed the catch with great force, scoring his second touchdown of the game!"
"Now the referees need to confirm whether Newmann's two feet landed inbounds!"
"We're all hoping it's a touchdown, because Newmann's performance on the catch was absolutely brilliant! Compared to Lu Ke's pass control, most of the credit should go to Newmann. He almost single-handedly created a gap in the dense defense and completed the catch with the chemistry he and Lu Ke have!"
"All eyes are on the referee."
"No problem! The video replay proves that this was a textbook-level footwork. Newmann, under the strong hit of two defenders, still managed to control his toes and complete the catch smoothly! And he made sure both his feet landed inbounds. It's a touchdown, no doubt about it, it's another touchdown!"
"In this drive, Newmann is undoubtedly the biggest hero. He completed all three of his catches, gaining a total of forty-five yards. This included a crucial third-and-six conversion, and in the final touchdown drive, after the first down play was an incomplete pass, at a crucial moment on second down, Newmann stepped up like a lighthouse, becoming Lu Ke's target."
"Newmann's performance is truly astonishing!"
"In the last three games, Vernon Davis's performance has dropped, and Newmann has stepped up and performed consistently at a high level, which is very impressive! In this game, he even showed an unstoppable, peak-level performance that reminds people of Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. And Logan Newmann's touchdown ability is even more outstanding! This offense is still the most feared team in the league!"
In the broadcast booth, Kirk and Teddy couldn't help but get excited again, expressing their amazement.
The San Francisco 49ers' offense, under the guidance of Jim Harbaugh, had transformed the complexity and beauty of the West Coast offense into the most spectacular sight on the field. They had undoubtedly become one of the most beautiful teams to watch on offense in the league.
The dazzling play designs were a Peyton Manning specialty. The deceptive fake passes were Aaron Rodgers' signature move. The precise and on-point bullet passes were Drew Brees' famous skill. The accurate throws in a crisis were Tom Brady's specialty.
The fluid offense was like Brazil during its golden age—it had the showiness and skills of individual players, as well as the cleverness and harmony of teamwork. After showing their brilliance, it was indeed a pleasure to watch. The San Francisco 49ers had successfully blended the offensive characteristics of the four elite quarterbacks and presented them in Lu Ke's unique style.
Although Lu Ke's ability to command the offensive line was not yet at the same level as Peyton Manning, and his passing stability was not as good as Brees, and his way of handling a crumbling pocket was not as good as Rodgers, and his understanding of short passes and tight ends was not as veteran as Brady...
But Lu Ke's intelligence, calmness, boldness, and decisiveness had already shown the potential of a top-tier quarterback.
More accurately, the offense led by Lu Ke showed the strengths and characteristics of a top-tier offense. The unstoppable, fluid, and seamless offense was truly amazing.
Although the saying goes, "Offense wins games, defense wins championships," even the best offense still needs the defense to ensure they go far. Otherwise, once the offense is stopped, the team will fall into a difficult situation and lose the game in no time.
But no one can deny that a beautiful offense is the most pleasing to the eye. It can easily win the hearts of fans. They would rather lose a game in a passionate shootout with their heads held high than win a game in a boring and depressing defensive battle like a scared turtle.
This was the case for the San Francisco 49ers now. Their beautiful offense had made them one of the most popular teams among neutral fans and analysts in the league.
For the St. Louis Rams, the pressure had risen to an incredible level.
This was like last year's NFC divisional game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints, or last year's NFC wild card game between the New Orleans Saints and the Detroit Lions.
Both offenses had more control and went all out until one of them couldn't keep up and started to make mistakes and errors. Of course, the defense's constant disruption was also very important. In the wild card game, the Detroit Lions lost their rhythm and lost the game. In the divisional game, the San Francisco 49ers remained tough until the end and won the game by gritting their teeth.
It seemed to be the same situation now.
But the problem was that the Rams' offense led by Sam Bradford was not the one that could handle such a heavy burden. It wasn't Bradford's fault, but the receivers' fault. Without a top-tier receiver, Bradford couldn't do much.
Facing the San Francisco 49ers' two consecutive touchdowns, the St. Louis Rams' offense started to panic.
In their first drive, they were in a third-and-three situation and barely converted it with two consecutive missed tackles by the San Francisco 49ers' defense.
In their second drive, they were in a third-and-four situation. This time, they weren't so lucky. The pass was incomplete, and it was almost intercepted. They left the field without a fight.
Now, the control was back in Lu Ke's hands, who was playing at home.
Against their divisional rival, and in such a special game, Lu Ke had no intention of holding back. After he came on the field, the offense didn't rush. Instead, they took a steady approach and continued to move forward. Even though the first quarter was coming to an end, Lu Ke's goal was still the end zone.
"Frank Gore! Who would have thought that this would be a running play! Frank Gore is running. The defensive line has completely fallen into the trap, and the run defense is a complete mess! They have lost their position now. Even though they're trying to cover, they can't get into position! Gore! Gore! Gore!"
"Before the defenders could close in, Gore found a path! Gore is still running!"
"Strong arm! Gore broke through the tackle that was coming at him! Nice! This is a 'Beast Mode' level tackle. Gore knocked the rookie third-round cornerback Trumaine Johnson to the ground! Johnson had no resistance at all. He fell to the ground cleanly like a Barbie doll!"
"The St. Louis Rams' cornerbacks have been hit hard today. They are completely unable to defend!"
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