Chapter 1081: Accumulating the Advantage

At the opponent’s 5-yard line, it was first down and goal.

Lu Ke still didn’t slow down. He continued with the quick snap. After quickly adjusting his footwork, he raised his right hand and made a passing motion toward Vernon Davis on the left. But it was just a motion. The football was still in his hand. Using the momentum from the fake move, he quickly turned around and handed the football to the quickly approaching Kendall Hunter.

Using the term "startled birds" was the best way to describe the Atlanta Falcons’ defense at this moment. From the pass rush to the ground defense to the pass coverage, they were a mess, a complete and utter mess. They had no rhythm from top to bottom.

The four defensive linemen couldn’t form an effective pass rush. They were bumping into the offensive line like headless chickens, but each of them was fighting alone and not as a group. The three linebackers were even more unsure of their positions. Two of the outside linebackers both chose to blitz the quarterback, but just as they crossed the line of scrimmage, they saw Lu Ke standing there nonchalantly, with no football in his hand. An inside linebacker was lost in the crowd, turning in circles as he looked left and right.

As for the safeties and cornerbacks, they were even more heartbroken, because the receivers weren’t even sprinting forward. All four receivers were standing between the line of scrimmage and the end zone. And they were staring at them. Yes, staring at the safeties and cornerbacks. They didn’t look like offensive players, but rather like defensive players, which stunned the four secondary defenders. If the opponent didn’t enter the end zone, then they would be useless.

In that moment of stunned confusion, Vernon and Logan on the right both sprinted forward, pushing away their assigned defenders and creating a small channel for Hunter.

It was only five yards. Hunter’s speed and strength had just erupted. In the midst of the chaos, he easily entered the end zone and scored a touchdown. This was the San Francisco 49ers’ first rushing touchdown since the playoffs began.

Because the entire offense and defense were in an unequal state, all the defensive players were being led by the nose. Before they could even react, Hunter had already sprinted out.

This fake pass, real run play, under the cover of the dazzling quick offense, achieved an incredible effect. All Hunter had to do was sprint forward and lift his legs, and that was enough. He then scored the touchdown right in front of the dumbfounded defense. Even now, they still didn’t quite understand what had happened.

Objectively speaking, there were almost no star players on the Atlanta Falcons’ defense. Even the two safeties’ individual abilities weren’t top-notch, but the defense was still able to rank among the best in the league this season. They relied on their play design and teamwork, both on the front line and in the secondary.

However, in this drive, when the defense faced Lu Ke, all their play designs and formations fell into Lu Ke’s calculations. This made the defense always a half-beat, or even a full beat, behind. In the process of defending, they were being held back and were falling behind at every step. Their teamwork was being disintegrated. After they couldn’t help each other, they could only rely on individual ability to defend, which turned into a disorganized mess.

After halftime, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense’s rhythm seemed to suddenly speed up ten times, while the Atlanta Falcons’ defense’s rhythm remained at the same pace as the first half, or even slightly slower. Naturally, they couldn’t keep up at all, and the entire situation was a one-sided destruction.

It was hard to imagine that in this drive, the San Francisco 49ers only faced one second-down play. All the other plays were first-down conversions, and it only took two minutes and forty-eight seconds. With a total of six plays, the touchdown was already in their pocket. It looked like the Falcons had no power to fight back, which was a stark contrast to the situation in the first half.

Not to mention the Falcons’ defensive players who were enduring the storm on the field, even the other Falcons’ players and coaches on the sideline were a little overwhelmed.

The entire drive and touchdown were as easy as taking something out of a pocket. Hunter didn’t even encounter any collisions or interference and easily scored the touchdown, which made him feel a bit cocky. He couldn’t help but wiggle his butt and dance in the end zone. His strange dance moves made his offensive teammates all show disgusted expressions, abandoning him in place and turning to leave.

In the end, only Hunter was left standing alone in the end zone, looking lonely. But luckily, the fans were still cheering and yelling. They were even clapping their hands for Hunter and yelling, "Hunter, don’t cry, don’t cry. You scored a touchdown, they didn’t. Stand up, and you can keep going later."

Hunter clenched his fists and started yelling and howling, and he roared all the way back to the sideline. He then said to the group of disgusted teammates, "You guys are just jealous! Yes, you’re all just jealous of my handsome dance moves! I can’t help it. It’s natural. Being jealous won’t help."

Such shamelessness was even too much for Lu Ke and Logan to bear.

On the field, the game continued.

"21-27." The San Francisco 49ers, with the first wave of momentum at the start of the second half, scored a powerful touchdown and closed the score gap to six points. Just as countless commentators said during halftime, everything was possible in the second half. Now, the pressure was once again on the Atlanta Falcons’ offense.

Actually, at the end of the first half, the Atlanta Falcons’ offense could already feel the pressure increasing. The San Francisco 49ers’ defense going all out made Matt Ryan fumble a bit, but then came halftime, which was good news for the Falcons. It interrupted the opponent’s defense from continuously improving and gave themselves time to breathe.

After the halftime adjustments, both sides started over, and the Falcons’ offense was re-equipped for battle.

In just the first drive, Ryan could feel the subtle changes in the defense.

The intensity of the pass rush on the entire front line was increasing. The offensive line’s pocket protection immediately became very shaky. The pressure on the right side, in particular, became stronger. The pressure the offense was under had clearly increased. However, this was a situation that had been anticipated during halftime. Although Ryan was a bit flustered, he wasn’t completely unprepared.

Other than that, it was hard to say what major adjustments the 49ers’ defense had made, but they could feel that the Falcons’ offense’s drive was starting to become difficult.

First and 10, Ryan chose to hand the football to running back Michael Turner. Facing the 49ers’ tough ground defense, Turner only gained two yards.

Second and eight, the entire pocket was in danger of being torn apart. In the storm, Ryan quickly threw the football to tight end Tony Gonzalez. The six-yard short pass found Gonzalez, who then used his size advantage to force back the cornerback and continued to move forward for two more yards, successfully converting the first down.

It was first and 10 again, and the offensive line was like paper. Facing the rush of four defensive linemen, they were quickly pushed aside. Ryan felt a great sense of danger. He used a step forward to try and complete the pass but couldn’t find an open target. Just as he was about to run with the ball himself, he was tackled fiercely and fell to the ground. Luckily, Ryan’s feet were on the line of scrimmage, and they didn’t lose any yards.

Second and 10, the pocket was once again in a storm. Ryan made a fake passing motion, attracting the attention to Julio Jones. He then still used a quick short pass to find Gonzalez. It was a five-yard short pass, and after catching the ball, Gonzalez still successfully broke through using his individual ability and converted the first down.

Subtly, Ryan could sense the danger, but in the middle of the game, countless pieces of information were surging through his mind and disappearing in a flash. He had no way of sorting them out immediately and had to keep his focus on the field. What’s more, the entire offense was still fluid. After they converted two consecutive first downs, they were already close to midfield, and it seemed like there wasn’t a big problem.

Ryan guessed that it was probably just the increased intensity and rhythm of the front-line defense that led to this strange feeling.

Then it was first and 10 again.

After the snap, Ryan could immediately feel the immense pressure from the pocket. The front was like a wall, and the left and right sides were quickly collapsing. The pressure on the right side, in particular, was like a tiger coming down a mountain. The force of the wind made Ryan’s fingers curl up. Ryan knew he had to get the ball out quickly.

Ryan actually had the ability to run with the ball. Although he was a traditional pocket quarterback, his running ability was much better than Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. In the 2011 regular season, he had 34 rushing attempts for 84 yards and two rushing touchdowns. This was one of his added abilities.

But at this moment, the pincer movement from the left and right sides had cut off Ryan’s escape route. He had no other choice but to quickly complete the pass.

He scanned the field and then saw that Gonzalez hadn’t been able to get away from the defense of the substitute cornerback, Tarell Brown, who had just been subbed in. Tarell had completely cut off Gonzalez’s receiving route. He stood like a hero between Ryan and Gonzalez. As long as Ryan dared to pass the ball, Tarell would dare to intercept it.

In a flash of lightning, Ryan determined his passing target: wide receiver Roddy White.

Julio Jones was a very obvious target. He could see two players converging on him in his peripheral vision. If it was a third-down conversion, Ryan might have used Julio’s absolute ability to complete the pass, but now it was only a first-down pass, so he quickly found Roddy on his front-right.

As expected, there were no defenders within three yards of Roddy.

With a swift motion, Ryan completed the pass.

But at that moment, the starting cornerback Chris Culliver flew over and intercepted the ball just above Roddy’s shoulder, right before Roddy could step up to make the catch.

Interception!

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