Chapter 872: Unrelenting Momentum
Three minutes into the second half, the San Francisco 49ers, who started with the ball, had already advanced into the red zone.
"Set!"
Facing a red zone drive, Lu Ke held the ball with both hands and quickly took a step back to create distance. As he crossed paths with Marcus, he turned his body and handed off the football to Marcus, with his back to the offensive and defensive lines.
But at the moment Marcus was about to complete the catch, Lu Ke's right hand pulled back slightly, breaking the connection between the two of them. Then, Marcus moved past him and kept running forward. Lu Ke turned in the direction Marcus was going, once again facing the defensive line directly, and the entire end zone was now in his line of sight.
Without stopping, Lu Ke's feet followed Marcus's direction, and with one step, he was ready to pass. He raised his hand, attracting the attention of all the defenders.
Some were watching Marcus, and some were watching Lu Ke.
Following Lu Ke's gesture, the St. Louis Rams' defense was in disarray. Logan Newmann! It was Logan Newmann again!
Logan, who had already scored three touchdowns this afternoon, had intentionally slowed down and delayed his start time. He saw Ginn sprint into the end zone first, while he was still wandering near the line of scrimmage. Then, without any warning, he suddenly took off and ran in a straight line.
But this time, the defenders were not letting their guard down. Even though Logan was faking, the cornerback on that side, Cortland Finnegan, didn't lose his position. He followed Logan backward and used his body to constantly harass Logan, disrupting Logan's rhythm.
Two defenders were following Logan, two were following Marcus, and another was quickly moving to this side. At the same time, there were still three defenders on the other side covering the other two offensive receivers, without any slack, fully prepared.
At this moment, Lu Ke pulled his right arm back, put the football in front of him, and adopted a running posture.
What?
The entire defense was shocked. It was then that they realized that Marcus and Logan's constant forward movement had successfully gotten them into the end zone. This meant that the area between the end zone and the line of scrimmage was empty, which was Lu Ke's running space.
But it was too late to react!
Lu Ke was running. This traditional quarterback was actively running with the ball!
The Rams' number ninety-one, defensive end Chris Long, had anticipated Lu Ke's run a half-step earlier. He thought Lu Ke was going to pass and was trying to disrupt Lu Ke's vision. But the next second, he was terrified and instinctively charged toward Lu Ke, trying to make a vicious tackle.
However, Lu Ke's footwork had improved a lot this season, and he was not afraid at all!
With one step, then another, Lu Ke could feel Chris Long lunging at him. His feet moved lightly to the right, and without any panic, he shifted the balance between the two of them and kept charging forward.
This was a red zone drive. The distance to run was short, just a few big steps. The most important thing for Lu Ke was to stay calm. Then he would have the advantage.
Sure enough, Chris Long's right hand seemed to have grabbed Lu Ke's jersey.
But Lu Ke's footwork was still a step better. One step! Another step! And another! With his light and agile footwork, before Chris Long could get a good grip, he was already in the end zone, with the help of Marcus and Logan's blocking.
Then, the defenders swarmed from all directions, surrounding Lu Ke like a dumpling. Marcus and Logan were like guardians, blocking in front of Lu Ke and barely giving him some breathing room, but the St. Louis Rams were still a step too late.
"Touchdown!"
The end zone referee once again raised his hands high, signaling that it was a clear touchdown. Even though a yellow flag was thrown, it was for Chris Long's holding foul. The offense had not made any mistakes. So, the touchdown was valid, once again declaring another strong and perfect drive for the San Francisco 49ers' offense!
"They're on fire, absolutely on fire! After the bye week, the San Francisco 49ers' offense has once again shown a rare good form this afternoon."
"In this drive, Lu Ke's thirty-yard connection with Ted Ginn was undoubtedly the most spectacular and important. If Ginn had not been affected by the defender's holding foul, which caused him to be a half-step late in his receiving, Ginn could have maintained his balance after the catch and continued to advance."
"Unfortunately, the Rams' holding foul broke the flow of the offense, forcing Ginn to lose his balance and fall after the catch. He couldn't continue to advance, otherwise Lu Ke would have scored his fifth touchdown pass of the game."
"However, the San Francisco 49ers' offense was not discouraged at all. They came back in the red zone, and Lu Ke faked again. After faking a pass to fool the defense, he faked a connection with Logan Newmann. Then, with the help of Newmann and Lynch's blocking, he chose to run with the ball himself."
"A five-yard rushing touchdown!"
"In fact, the Rams' defensive end Chris Long had noticed Lu Ke's intention to run and charged toward him immediately. But he couldn't get into position in time. He only managed to grab Lu Ke's jersey and couldn't apply any force. He could only watch as Lu Ke ran into the end zone and scored another touchdown!"
"This play is actually worth discussing. Lu Ke is the main force of the San Francisco 49ers' offense. He doesn't have to run the ball and risk getting injured. Any injury could be a consequence that the 49ers can't bear. In that red zone drive, Crabtree on the left side had already created a gap. Lu Ke could have tried to pass to him."
"But Lu Ke still showed his fighting spirit. He noticed the gap to run and didn't hesitate to execute the play, catching the opponent off guard. Even though the home team had the lead, he didn't relax at all. His determination to win is dominating the game."
"Strictly speaking, Lu Ke's rushing touchdowns are no longer a surprise. In two seasons, this is Lu Ke's third rushing touchdown. In addition, he also has a receiving touchdown. It shows that his pocket footwork has reached a certain level, which is the result of his hard work in the offseason. Although he is a traditional passing quarterback, Lu Ke's running ability is a skill that every team must watch out for."
"But this was an intentional rushing touchdown, not a desperate run under pressure. In the game, Lu Ke's fighting spirit and determination to win are truly amazing. Now, this game is becoming more and more difficult for the St. Louis Rams."
As Kirk and Teddy analyzed in the broadcast booth, Lu Ke had no intention of letting his guard down. Even with a nine-point lead in the second half, he was still going all out, which was bad news for the Rams.
The offense was a relatively weak link for the Rams. Although the San Francisco 49ers' defense was not in their best form today, Sam Bradford was like a clever cook without rice. He couldn't carry the entire team forward by himself. Their offense was always disjointed and couldn't be consistent.
And their defense was completely helpless in this game, becoming a backdrop. Facing an on-fire and in-form Lu Ke, they had no way to resist. They could only watch as the 49ers' receivers got into their rhythm, as if it was an internal practice game. The Rams' defense got a shameful lesson.
This game also became Lu Ke's best game of his career.
Lu Ke scored a total of six passing touchdowns, setting a new career high in two seasons and becoming one of the few quarterbacks in the league to have six touchdowns in a single game. What's more, Lu Ke also scored a rushing touchdown. In this game, both running backs, Gore and Marcus, showed signs of getting back into form, but they still couldn't score a rushing touchdown.
In other words, all seven touchdowns in the entire game were related to Lu Ke.
In the entire game, he completed 30 of 41 passes for 452 yards, with six passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, and zero interceptions. His quarterback rating was 157.78, and his PFF score was 2.0.
His quarterback rating set a new career high, just a hair away from the perfect score of 158.3. And his PFF score was a perfect score. This also proved that this quarterback had the potential to become a top player in the league, and his performance this season was far ahead of others, making him a strong contender for the regular season MVP award.
By the way, now that the regular season has entered its tenth week, Lu Ke's passing touchdowns have reached thirty. This makes people wonder if Lu Ke can break Tom Brady's historical record of fifty touchdowns in a single season, which he set in 2007.
For the St. Louis Rams, this was a real disgrace, and it was from their divisional rival.
In the end, when the referee blew the final whistle, the score on the field was 49-30.
Although the St. Louis Rams' performance was very tenacious, once again proving the rule that they are great in divisional games, at the end of the game, they still couldn't take down the very strong San Francisco 49ers this season. They followed in the footsteps of the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, witnessing their opponent's three-game winning streak in the division and swallowing a bitter defeat.
But in this game, the main focus was not the St. Louis Rams. All eyes were on the San Francisco 49ers—more specifically, on the golden ocean in Candlestick Park.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!