Chapter 1037: Back and Forth

At this moment, the San Francisco 49ers were facing a third-and-goal situation.

On the right side, defensive end Bruce Irvin suddenly attacked, pushing his assigned offensive tackle, Alex Boone, forward with strength and speed. Like a bull charging through a mountain, he was unreasonably rushing toward Lu Ke. Boone was doing his best to hold his ground but was constantly being pushed back because he had lost the initiative. He could only barely maintain his position to prevent Irvin from getting a direct sack.

Seeing this, Lu Ke had to move his feet and pull to the other side.

On the left side, the two linebackers, Leroy Hill and Bobby Wagner, both gave up on the running defense and chose to retreat, joining Brandon Browner and Kam Chancellor. The four of them set up a zone defense, tightly holding their ground against Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Ted Ginn Jr.

While moving quickly, Lu Ke noticed the safety, Earl Thomas, moving toward the middle. His eyes were already on Ted Ginn, who was cutting into the end zone, instantly creating a three-person trap. Ginn was like a lamb to the slaughter, with nowhere to run.

In a fleeting moment, Lu Ke’s mind made a decision. His feet were still moving horizontally, but his upper body had already twisted to the right by 60 degrees. With a quick glance, he saw Logan Newnam in a one-on-one matchup with Richard Sherman. He immediately passed the ball.

Sherman tightly held his ground against Logan, constantly bumping his shoulder and armpit with his own shoulder. His hands were also constantly pushing, disrupting Logan’s forward rhythm. Seeing that the ball had been passed, Sherman’s hands suddenly put more pressure on him. He put all his strength into his palms and fiercely collided with Logan.

Logan’s feet were still in a full sprint. With the sudden collision, his balance and rhythm were inevitably affected, but his upper body remained stable. He completely ignored Sherman’s defense and stared at the football. He stretched out his hands, spreading his palms, trying to touch the ball with his fingertips to make the catch.

But... the ball just glided past his fingertips. A miss by a hair’s breadth.

The next moment, Logan was finally unable to maintain his balance, and he was sent flying, kicking up a large cloud of grass.

"The Seattle Seahawks’ defense successfully completed this stop! Based on their original defensive strategy, the Seahawks’ coaching staff made subtle adjustments on the fly, rearranging their defensive line. They successfully broke through the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive line pocket, putting unprecedented passing pressure on Lu Ke."

"At the same time, the secondary defense completely shut down all the passing lanes. Almost every receiver was in a one-on-two situation. Only Logan Newnam, who was in a corner away from Lu Ke’s sight, had a one-on-one matchup with Richard Sherman. But in that fleeting small window, Lu Ke still managed to find a way, completing the pass in a critical moment!"

"However, Sherman’s defensive intensity was still superior. He anticipated Newnam’s burst and barely managed to break up the pass! Newnam was just a half-hand away from a touchdown catch! Wow, this is so spectacular! The offense was beautiful! The defense was even more beautiful!"

"The Seattle Seahawks’ defense has finally shown its strength as the number one defense in the league!"

After Dashon Goldson’s interception, the San Francisco 49ers got a good field position near the midfield. This was undoubtedly a golden opportunity for the home team. If they could score again and widen the score gap, they would have more control over the game and be able to open up their playbook completely. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The Seattle Seahawks had the same understanding of the situation.

So, after a brief adjustment, the defense quickly raised their level. The Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, still didn’t change his tactics. Instead, he pushed his defensive system to the extreme.

On the first and second downs, they completely abandoned the idea of a quarterback blitz, and there were no more unexpected tactical changes. Correspondingly, both the running and secondary defenses received more players.

The main change was in the tactical roles of the two outside linebackers.

K.J. Wright and Leroy Hill, the two outside linebackers, moved back slightly. Their main focus was on the short-pass area, freeing up the coverage of safety Kam Chancellor. The secondary, which was originally guarded by four members of the Legion of Boom, now had six players on the short, medium, and long passing lines, further unleashing the power of their zone defense.

At the same time, all the pressure on the running defense was put on the defensive line and inside linebacker Bobby Wagner. Even the only player with the ability to blitz the quarterback, defensive end Bruce Irvin, was diligently sticking to his position. After giving up the blitz tactic, the five players built an insurmountable wall.

Basically, they used their physical advantage of weight and size to build a dam strong enough to stop a flood of monsters, cutting off all possibilities of a breakthrough in the middle. Then, Wagner was responsible for covering the running back. When the running back chose to break through on either side, he would follow them to make the tackle.

This way, more than 80% of the running plays would be unable to break through. What about the remaining 20%? If the running back still managed to find a way to advance, Wagner would get into position immediately, and then the two outside linebackers would come back from the short-pass area to assist, minimizing the damage as much as possible. The running game would still be unable to get going.

The front line was completely focused on the running defense, and the backfield was crowded with defenders against the pass. The overall intensity and density of the Seattle Seahawks’ defense had increased.

Of course, this didn’t mean they were flawless.

Offense and defense are a process of outsmarting, breaking through, and confronting each other. Lu Ke still used his defensive reads and play-calling, and most importantly, his ability to read the game on the fly, to find a way to keep moving forward amidst the raging waves. Although the speed of their advance gradually slowed down, they still successfully got into the red zone.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t score a touchdown in the red zone.

On that third-down play, defensive end Bruce Irvin suddenly rushed the passer, forcefully pushing against Alex Boone, trying to get a sack. Under the cover of a solid running defense, he put even more pressure on Lu Ke’s pass. Then, the zone defense in the end zone was so dense that it would trigger claustrophobia.

Even in such a difficult situation, Logan still managed to find a tiny bit of space to receive the ball. Lu Ke also incredibly found a passing lane in his blind spot. Unfortunately, it was just a little bit short.

Three-and-out.

After all that effort to get into the red zone, they still had to settle for a field goal, failing to maximize the effect of the interception.

After making the key stop, Richard Sherman pounded his chest like King Kong, venting his emotions. This was his true level. He had been dominating the league all season, but every time he faced the San Francisco 49ers, he felt so frustrated. All that anger and frustration could finally be released.

Sherman turned around and roared fiercely in Lu Ke’s direction. He was about to go over and talk some trash and really get under Lu Ke’s skin, but he didn’t expect that Lu Ke would just turn and walk away, away...

Lu Ke didn’t even notice Sherman’s actions. He was leaving the field, deep in thought, not out of frustration, but out of reflection.

The control of that pass was indeed slightly off. The leather of the football was a bit harder today, but not as bad as in the "Soup Bowl" last year or the game at Foxborough this year. Overall, Lu Ke was still in control, but it seemed that he still needed to adjust his control details in crucial moments. This was one of the signs of his lack of experience.

The slight deviation in detail was the reason why this offensive drive couldn’t be a one-and-done. Lu Ke had to avoid this from now on.

After thinking about it, Lu Ke jogged to the sideline. After high-fiving David Akers to wish him luck, he stood on the sideline. He didn’t open his playbook as usual. Instead, he started practicing his passing and catching by feel. The strength in his fingertips and wrist needed to be adjusted.

Sherman stood in place, a mouthful of frustration stuck in his chest. He couldn’t swallow it, and he couldn’t spit it out. He was so upset. He finally cursed and walked off the field. The game had just started. If he intercepted Lu Ke two or three times, they would see if Lu Ke could still be so arrogant!

Just you wait!

Even though they couldn’t get a touchdown, Akers and the special teams came on and kicked a solid 23-yard field goal. The score was now "10-0." The home team, the San Francisco 49ers, was still steadily in the game.

It was clear that the Seattle Seahawks’ defense was picking up the pace, showing their true strength. The Seahawks’ offense also seemed to be inspired. Their overall performance began to show signs of improvement. The Divisional Round game was finally starting to look like a Divisional Round game. This was reflected in Russell Wilson’s and Marshawn Lynch’s running game.

About seven minutes later, this heavy and slow, frustrating and tough offensive drive finally found a ray of hope. With a solid and powerful running game, they opened things up.

"Touchdown! Marshawn Lynch completed a two-yard rushing touchdown! The Seattle Seahawks have finally broken the deadlock at the end of the first quarter! The score gap has quickly narrowed, and the showdown between the two teams is starting to heat up!"

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