Chapter 960: Chapter 960: Counterattack Launched

Chapter 960: Counterattack Launched

"48 yards!"

"Jesus Christ! This is a 48-yard super long pass! And it’s a long pass in windy and rainy weather! This is truly insane! Who would have thought it would be a long pass? My God, oh, my God! What a bold move! At a critical moment, Lu Ke actually threw a 48-yard long pass!"

"Chad Hall!"

"He caught it! Hall caught it! Chad Hall caught it! Ahhh, he caught it! This is one of the best long-pass controls of the season. It accurately found Chad Hall! The number 13 wide receiver successfully completed the catch!"

"Gregory is filling in! The New England Patriots’ number 28 safety Steve Gregory is trying to cover, but he slipped! Gregory slipped! He missed Hall! He missed him! Hall! Hall! Hall is charging forward! Hall! Number 13 Chad Hall!"

"He’s crossed the Patriots’ 35-yard line! The 30-yard line! The 25-yard line!"

"Cornerback number 31, Talib, is running back to cover. Hall’s speed hasn’t reached its maximum, apparently because he’s still being careful about the slippery field. His entire run looks very solid. But Talib’s speed hasn’t picked up either! Hall! Hall is still charging! The entire New England Patriots’ defense is running back to cover! They haven’t given up yet!"

"But... Hall! The 20-yard line! The 15-yard line! The 10-yard line! Unbelievable! This is simply too unbelievable! No one can catch him! There are no players who can catch him now! Hall! Hall is still running! The 5-yard line! The end zone! Touchdown! Chad Hall! My God, ladies and gentlemen, the San Francisco 49ers’ number 13 wide receiver, Chad Hall, has run into the end zone and completed a touchdown!"

"Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown!"

"It’s a touchdown! There is no doubt that this is a long-pass touchdown that crossed the entire field! From the 49ers’ 12-yard line, it went through the entire field and finally pierced into the New England Patriots’ end zone for a successful touchdown!"

"Oh, God! Oh, my dear God!"

"We have just witnessed one of the most amazing offensive plays of the week! Just now! Facing a second and eighteen, facing the terrible weather in Foxborough, and facing the problem of being shut out in the first half, the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Lu Ke made the toughest counterattack: first, he chose to run the ball! Then the running back threw it back, and finally, Lu Ke completed the fatal blow! This was an incredible pass! This was a mind-boggling play!"

"Touchdown!"

"The San Francisco 49ers have successfully scored a touchdown!"

After running into the end zone, Chad Hall wasn’t in a hurry to celebrate. He supported his knees with his hands, panting heavily. During that run, because his feet were constantly slipping, his muscles were extremely tense. Also, to avoid fumbling, he had to hold the ball with both hands, which made his running motion even more awkward, and his physical energy seemed to be increasing.

He looked up, searching for the referee’s location in the misty rain, but for a moment, he lost his sense of direction and couldn’t find the referee. His eyes were blank.

At that moment, a whistle sounded across the sky. It was the whistle for a touchdown. It was like magic, wiping away all the rain and mist. The drizzle stopped, and the blue-gray sky above him gradually appeared. He still couldn’t see much sunlight, but the whole world brightened up.

The wind and rain seemed to have finally stopped for a while.

Then, Hall saw his happy teammates charging toward him. Logan, Manningham, Ginn, Marcus, and so on. All the faces hidden behind the helmets had their mouths wide open, not hiding their ecstasy. The crazy shouts swept toward him, "Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown!"

It wasn’t until this moment that Hall felt some sense of reality.

He was just an unknown backup player, an undrafted rookie in 2008 who had played for the Philadelphia Eagles for the past four years without any presence. He was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason this year, mainly playing on the special teams, still without any presence. If nothing unexpected happened, this seemed to be the end of his career.

But today, against the New England Patriots, he successfully scored a touchdown. A touchdown! At Gillette Stadium!

Suddenly, he remembered the tactical meetings of the offense’s second team over the past two months. Those moments of hard work, beauty, regret, and excitement all turned into happiness and joy.

He looked up, and the smile on Hall’s face finally bloomed freely and brilliantly. He quickly and eagerly searched for the number 14 on the field. Then he walked quickly toward him and put the touchdown ball in Lu Ke’s arms, saying in a cool and handsome way, "This touchdown is yours!"

Lu Ke was slightly surprised, and the smile on his face became meaningful.

Hall was still immersed in his own joy and didn’t notice the strangeness.

At this moment, the referee walked over and said calmly and seriously, "Give me the ball!" During the game, the ball must be handed over to the referee. Players cannot take it off the field.

Hall’s smile immediately froze on his face. Lu Ke raised his hand and threw the ball to the referee, then gently patted Hall’s shoulder. "Let’s go. David is waiting."

"Pffft," Logan couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Then the other offensive teammates also burst out laughing.

Hall annoyedly touched his helmet, but then he also started to laugh with everyone else.

Leaving the field and returning to the sideline, David Akers, Patrick Willis, and Ahmad Brooks lined up, holding their right hands high. Then Lu Ke high-fived them one by one. Finally, he came to the rest area on the side. The ball boy, Thomas Robinson, immediately handed him a towel and a cup of water, as well as the playbook.

This was all.

The offense finally scored, but this was just the beginning. The defense and special teams didn’t get carried away. There was still a very long time left in the second half. They were still on the edge of a cliff. They had taken one step back from it, but if they were to relax for a moment, they could fall back into the abyss.

In this game, the special teams tried a field goal for the first time. Akers, whose field goal accuracy had slightly dropped this season, still maintained a 100% success rate for extra points. This time, against the New England Patriots’ special teams, Akers was no exception and kicked the ball in steadily.

"27-7."

The score on the scoreboard finally got a little closer. Although the gap was still huge, at least there was some change in the game.

Facing this situation, the experienced Tom Brady was not affected at all.

The San Francisco 49ers knew it was impossible to keep Brady from scoring in the second half. Likewise, the New England Patriots knew it was impossible to shut out Lu Ke. The offensive confrontation in the first half was not normal. Now, the game was just getting on track.

The steady Brady continued his good form, using short passes and runs to control the game. But it was clear that the 49ers’ defense was getting better.

Their entire defensive strategy became clear and well-paced, with both aggression and retreat. In contrast, in the first half, they were just messing around with brute force. They could occasionally overpower the opponent with strength, but they had no plan. This also made the exchanges between the two teams start to look good.

But the New England Patriots were not in a hurry at all. They had the lead, so they could slowly run down the clock and gradually reduce the time and space for the 49ers to counterattack. What’s more, Brady was not just wasting time passively. He could get a first down out of nowhere and was still trying to score.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

This drive lasted for almost five minutes before Brady and Gronkowski’s pass connection failed. Although the drizzle had stopped and the cold wind seemed to have calmed down a bit, the occasional gusts of wind were still unpredictable. Brady’s pass under pressure was too short and too low. Gronkowski had no way to bend down to complete the catch, so they went three and out.

Even so, the New England Patriots still advanced to the field goal range. The team’s number three kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, came on. This handsome guy is one of the most stable kickers in the league and has been their number one kicker since joining the team in 2006.

Facing a 41-yard field goal again, Gostkowski was not flustered and kicked it in.

"30-7."

The New England Patriots were still the New England Patriots. Facing the 49ers’ amazing and morale-boosting long-pass touchdown, they remained stable and controlled the game without being arrogant or impatient. In other words, the 49ers’ recent performance was still not enough to throw them off their game.

But the San Francisco 49ers seemed to have become the San Francisco 49ers again. Facing the opponent’s strong performance and the huge score difference, they were not shaken or intimidated. That stubbornness and youthful spirit of a newborn calf burst out again, and they launched a relentless counterattack.

In that last touchdown, Lu Ke used every trick in the book to complete the play with a fatal long pass. However, that was a bold challenge with a bit of a gambler’s mentality. They couldn’t close a 23-point gap with a gambler’s approach every time. So, after coming back on the field, under Lu Ke’s control, the San Francisco 49ers finally seemed to have found their rhythm again.

First and 10.

Frank Gore ran into a wall and couldn’t advance.

Second and 10.

Lu Ke dropped back in the pocket and threw a 12-yard medium pass to Mario Manningham near the left sideline, but Manningham made a slight mistake in judging Lu Ke’s passing route. Under the continuous pressure of cornerback Kyle Arrington, he was just half a palm short and couldn’t complete the catch.

Third and 10.

A two-by-two offensive formation, and then... Lu Ke ran the ball.

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