Chapter 972: Chapter 972: A Roaring Momentum

Chapter 972: A Roaring Momentum

The New England Patriots’ defense was not a traditional powerhouse in the league. At a crucial moment, they reverted to the most basic and familiar defensive style. On the other hand, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense was the most watched dark horse in the league in the past two seasons. At a critical moment, they always dared to be bold and change their strategy.

So, in this confrontation and change, would "change" gain the upper hand, or would "no change" get the first move?

The New England Patriots’ defense caught the change in the opponent’s formation, but they didn’t have time to change because Lu Ke didn’t leave them any time. Seeing that the timeout countdown was about to end, Lu Ke didn’t hesitate anymore and immediately called the snap:

"Attack!"

After the snap, Lu Ke, who was in the pistol formation, quickly took a step back and made a fake handoff. But he immediately pulled his right hand back, stood in the relatively stable offensive line pocket, and quickly made a judgment with a quick scan.

Logan did not charge forward. Instead, he stood parallel to the offensive line and worked with them to create a defensive mismatch, tearing open a wide lane in the middle. Marcus easily broke through the line without any effort and became entangled with the middle linebacker, Mayo.

Now, Marcus and Mayo were about six or seven yards away from the line of scrimmage. Marcus had a slight opening for a catch, but Mayo was relentlessly chasing him.

Hall and Jean both broke toward the deep area, which not only put the two safeties on high alert but also made the cornerback and outside linebacker on the same side move at the same time. Their crisscrossing runs had already created open spaces for catches before, and this time, they didn’t hesitate to attract the attention of four defenders.

Finally, there was Moss.

After Moss charged forward, a cornerback was following him closely. Another outside linebacker was also quickly retreating, but Moss did not continue to push toward the deep area. He only ran about 10 yards and then suddenly put on the brakes. The outside linebacker’s feet continued to move toward the deep area, and the two of them were separated.

At the same time, Moss shifted his weight to the outside, changed his running route, and forced the close-by cornerback, Kyle Arrington, to change his center of gravity. Then, without any pause, Moss moved horizontally toward the inner central area, and his speed gradually reached its maximum.

With this in-and-out motion, Arrington completely lost his balance. After a second movement, although he was not completely shaken off, the distance between them had already widened to about three yards. This was enough for a catch.

Lu Ke’s bullet pass instantly found Moss.

Moss only needed to make a small adjustment with his feet. His rhythm and posture didn’t need to change. The fast-moving football was not affected by the breeze at all and accurately entered Moss’s hands. While he made the catch, Moss’s feet were still running toward the front right, with almost no deceleration.

This was a 15-yard medium-range pass.

From the throw to the catch, it was a perfect connection.

After making the catch, Moss continued to advance for about five more yards before he was surrounded by three defenders. Moss timely controlled his feet and tried to stop, but the following Arrington lowered his body and hit Moss’s right hand that was holding the ball. The football was knocked out before Moss could react.

However, this didn’t matter.

Controlling the football should be divided into two parts. The first part is whether the ball is accurately controlled at the moment of the catch. If it’s knocked out at this time, it’s an incomplete pass. The second part is after the catch, when the ball is controlled. If the defender relentlessly knocks the ball out during the run, the pass is completed. The run just ends where the ball was dropped, which is equivalent to being tackled.

Moss had clearly controlled the football just now, and he had undoubtedly completed this third-and-12 conversion.

The seemingly difficult third-and-long conversion was completed in the blink of an eye. It seemed so easy and simple to the audience, but it wasn’t for the players on the field. It was obvious that Lu Ke’s focus had returned, and the control of details became accurate.

But Lu Ke didn’t relax at all.

He gave up the huddle and kept waving his hands. The iconic seal wave appeared again, quickly pushing the entire offense’s line of scrimmage forward by 20 yards, from the 20-yard line to the 40-yard line. Without any pause or time to breathe, Lu Ke immediately announced the snap.

Facing a first and 10, Lu Ke completed Brady’s most specialized killing move.

He had a quick snap and a quick release, finding Jean at the six-yard mark on the right side of the short-passing zone.

The New England Patriots’ defense didn’t even have time to make a further judgment on the receiver’s running route. They just made a reflexive response based on their instinct and position, and then Jean had already made the catch. This was precisely the weapon that Brady often used to tear apart the defense at critical moments. Now that it was used on the New England Patriots’ defense, it also worked.

After Jean made the catch, he quickly adjusted his feet slightly, and then continued to run along the slot. He then advanced for another three yards before he was surrounded by defenders and forced to go down.

But the 49ers’ offense didn’t care whether this run got a first down. Jean turned around and tossed the ball back to the referee, and then he immediately joined his teammates and quickly lined up again.

This was an overt plot!

The reason a no-huddle offense is hard to defend against is that it is an overt plot. The offense clearly showed that they needed to speed up and wouldn’t choose too many complicated play combinations. This further compressed the defense’s time and space for play-calling, so offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency were a test of sheer strength.

Now, the New England Patriots’ defense was not in a chaotic state yet. Relying on their experience, the veteran defenders quickly lined up and skillfully adjusted their breathing, dedicating themselves to the next wave of defense.

This was like a marathon. Both sides started to speed up and enter the anaerobic stage. Now, it was up to whoever was tougher, more persistent, more patient, and more ruthless in the anaerobic stage. The one who could maintain their rhythm would have the last laugh.

Second and one.

Lu Ke, who was in the "I" formation, quickly stepped back and made a crisscrossing motion with Gore, who had just come in. He faked a pass, but then he turned around and raised his right hand to look for a target.

A quarter of a beat. Another quarter of a beat.

Lu Ke’s throwing motion clearly caused a chain reaction. He deliberately slowed down his release. He watched as the cornerback and safety were pushed back into the backfield by the receivers. He watched as the continuous pressure from the defensive line and linebackers compressed the offensive line to the extreme. The pocket was starting to become dangerous. Then, Lu Ke finally made his move.

Lu Ke did not throw the ball. Instead, he pulled his right hand back, turned around, and made a horizontal soft toss to Gore, who was moving horizontally to the outside.

Gore’s position was still parallel to Lu Ke. He had just left the pocket. According to league statistics, this was a running play, not a passing play.

Gore didn’t face any defenders and easily made the catch. Then he moved again and continued to run forward with small, fast steps and strong power, using the open space left behind by the receivers. One step, two steps, three steps. Then he quickly crossed the line of scrimmage and successfully got a first down.

Then, the New England Patriots’ outside linebacker, Tracy White, number 58, came up to fill the void. The entire run defense still maintained a high level of stability, but White’s rush seemed to be a quarter of a beat slower. Gore got a quarter of a beat ahead of him, and the two of them were out of sync.

White still hit Gore, but he couldn’t make a solid tackle.

The small difference in detail gave Gore more space to continue to advance. He stumbled two steps to the outside in the direction of the hit, and then the power of his forward run burst out again. In his sight, he could see the cornerback, safety, and linebacker all rushing toward him, trying to make a double-team immediately.

Gore quickly made a rough estimation and realized that his running space was limited. Without any hesitation, he started to pull toward the outside. After just two big steps, before the cornerback Aqib Talib could make a tackle, Gore had already voluntarily stepped out of bounds, successfully stopping the clock.

He gained a total of seven yards, and the clock stopped because he was out of bounds.

Normally, the most important reason for a no-huddle offense to speed up is to shorten the game time. But if there is an official timeout or the clock stops because a player goes out of bounds, the offense is still willing to stop and huddle. After all, the offensive players also need time to breathe.

But today, Lu Ke did the opposite. Even though the game time was stopped, they still didn’t huddle. Instead, they quickly lined up and immediately faced the next first and 10.

This abnormal action immediately made the New England Patriots’ defense flustered. They were even a bit annoyed and angry. The defense’s rhythm was already easily trapped by the offense, and now they were completely being led by the opponent. This feeling of being wronged was really hard to describe.

After a quick line up and a quick snap, Lu Ke used two fakes to shake off the defense, and then his third pass was the real one. The football drew a beautiful arc in the air and flew quickly toward the end zone.

This was a long and crucial pass!

"D*mn it!" The entire defense was tense and panicked.

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