Chapter 780: The Winning Streak Curse
"Bambi!"
The New York Giants' special teams had just kicked off, and the San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Williams was returning the kick. The other offensive players were closely watching the action on the field, jumping in place to cheer on the special teams. Lu Ke was no exception. All of a sudden, someone patted him on the shoulder, and he heard a call.
He turned his head and saw Randy Moss.
Moss's face was a little stiff, and his eyes were a little uncomfortable. His gaze kept shifting, revealing a sense of uncertainty and uneasiness. He tried to say something, but he couldn't even open his mouth. After calling Lu Ke's name, he had no follow-up.
Lu Ke vaguely guessed what was going on, but he didn't say anything. He just waited quietly and patiently.
In the tactical meeting room, he could give Moss an out, but not on the field. Some things, after all, still needed Moss to say them himself and break the ice.
Moss also realized this. On the field, Williams's return had been stopped, and they were about to go on the field. There was no time to hesitate. Moss gritted his teeth and said, "Bambi, I'm ready."
He was ready to go on the field. He was ready to fight.
"Are you sure?" Lu Ke didn't nod immediately but asked a follow-up question. This time, Moss didn't answer honestly. Instead, he widened his eyes and met Lu Ke's gaze head-on, revealing a hint of anger, as if protesting, "What else do you need to be sure of?"
Normally, Moss could have bypassed Lu Ke and gone straight to the head coach to ask to play. Even if he did that, Lu Ke could only have swallowed his anger, and Harbaugh wouldn't have blamed him. But Moss chose to communicate with Lu Ke face-to-face, with the offensive captain and the team's quarterback.
This small gesture in itself was a sign of respect.
Lu Ke didn't push his luck or say anything more. He turned around and walked over to Harbaugh, whispering a few words. Harbaugh frowned and talked back and forth with Lu Ke. In the end, he didn't hesitate too much and nodded in agreement.
Lu Ke nodded slightly at Moss. Moss couldn't wait and jumped slightly, clenching his fists to cheer for himself, and quickly jogged in place, trying to get his body fully active.
This wasn't a casual substitution for a third-down play, but a real start as a main receiver. It had been a long time. It had really been a long time.
The reason for agreeing to let Moss play was not only because Moss made a change for the first time this week by participating in the offensive team's private tactical meeting but also because the offense was not in its best state in today's game. Replacing a wide receiver to change the running routes and tactical deployment was also a form of adjustment.
On this point, Lu Ke and Harbaugh reached a consensus.
The player Randy Moss was replacing was Michael Crabtree, who had a poor overall performance in the first half. The one who was in charge of telling him was the wide receivers coach John Morton.
Although this was not an unexpected decision, it was clear that Crabtree was very unhappy. His strong body language expressed his irritability and anger, and he even kicked over a water bottle on the sidelines. During halftime, Harbaugh didn't make any major adjustments. Crabtree was preparing to redeem himself in the second half, but now that the plan had suddenly changed, he naturally couldn't accept it easily.
Lu Ke just quickly glanced at it with the corner of his eye, caught Crabtree's action, but didn't stop. He high-fived his special teams teammates as he passed them and quickly ran onto the field, officially kicking off the second half of the offense.
After Moss officially took the field, the offensive players were more or less surprised. Their gazes all turned to Lu Ke. After seeing Lu Ke nod slightly in affirmation, they quickly exchanged glances and then immediately completed their formation.
Moss was a little unaccustomed to it. The tactics for a first-down play and a third-down play were worlds apart. Lu Ke's shout immediately rang out, "Nine-ball, Randy, nine-ball!" This was the position instruction. There was no special secret. All positions on every team were the same.
Moss quickly adjusted his position, moved two steps to the inside, and then completed his formation.
This was a standard formation, a 2x2, a pistol formation, and the only special thing was the two-tight-end tactic.
In the offseason, the 49ers selected wide receiver A.J. Jenkins with the 30th pick in the first round, mainly because they were worried about Ted Ginn's recovery from injury. Later, Ginn returned from his injury smoothly, and people once thought that the team's wide receiver lineup was a bit bloated. But now, it seemed that Jenkins had not grown as expected, so the two-tight-end tactic was used more in the first five weeks.
On the left were Moss and Vernon, and on the right were Logan and Ginn.
The entire offense was not too nervous or chaotic. They still maintained a relatively calm state. The foundation built from the series of hard-fought games last season was still showing.
"Special Mission: The Winning Streak Curse.
Mission description: A winning streak can build confidence, but it can also bring pressure and pose a severe test to one's energy and physical strength. On the road to a continuous winning streak, the continuous accumulation of bumps and setbacks can often create a unique kind of trouble.
Last season, you had two five-game winning streaks, but both times you stopped at five consecutive wins, as if you were trapped in a curse. Can you break through this season? Can you further improve on your goals? More importantly, can you defeat the New York Giants and break the curse?
Mission requirements: Defeat the New York Giants at home and continue the winning streak. Defeat quarterback Eli Manning at home, with more touchdowns and fewer interceptions.
Mission reward: State-boosting aura +1; special points +3; a designated special skill +1.
Failure penalty: All mission rewards for this week's game will be cleared."
During halftime, a corresponding special mission appeared in the system.
Although everyone knew from last year's experience that this game was extremely difficult, after the game actually started, the pervasive influence still permeated every aspect of the entire team. On the other hand, the New York Giants, who were 3-2 at the moment, let loose and played a beautiful first half.
Therefore, the system went a step further and issued a reminder, giving them a reason not to lose.
Lu Ke secretly adjusted his breathing and focused all his attention. He temporarily put all the chaos from the first half and the urgency of the special mission behind him. He fully committed to this drive. He didn't even think about the touchdown for now but instead focused on making progress step by step.
Facing a three-touchdown deficit, this was a must-score drive. At least at the beginning of the second half, they had to build momentum and then improve their state and rhythm step by step.
Without any hesitation, Lu Ke directly activated the special skill "Boost Aura," which increased the state of all offensive players by 10% for five minutes.
After finishing his read of the defense, Lu Ke slowly bent down and got ready to snap the ball. He used a series of dazzling offensive calls. The opposing defense didn't move at all. They were not fooled by Lu Ke's fake snap calls. It wasn't until the clear and accurate "Hut!" that all the players started to move like tigers out of their cages.
Lu Ke held the ball with both hands, didn't drop back, and made small adjustments in place. With a quick turn, he faced Marcus Lynch and made a quick hand-off motion, as if he was going to start with a run play, but this was a run-pass option.
In the first half of the game, the New York Giants' defensive line performed very well. In addition to defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who made the Pro Bowl last season, two-time Pro Bowl veteran defensive end Justin Tuck also showed a new lease on life, putting a lot of pressure on the offensive line.
Although there haven't been any sacks so far, Lu Ke was under great pressure to complete a pass six times, and they also effectively stopped the running backs' advancement at least three times, holding the 49ers' running backs firmly behind the line of scrimmage.
At the same time, the New York Giants' linebacker group had a very flexible coverage. They consciously targeted the running backs, whether it was a catch from the slot or the running back's main job of running the ball. The tight coverage of the short-pass area made the 49ers constantly under great pressure in the frontal clashes.
However, the New York Giants' defense was still not comparable to the Baltimore Ravens' or the Pittsburgh Steelers'. Their secondary defense was completely loose. As long as the offensive line could withstand the first wave of impact, Lu Ke could find a passing lane and successfully make a play. The two touchdown passes were completed this way.
Therefore, Lu Ke needed to make full use of this defensive weakness of the New York Giants to open up the game in his own way. This was also the purpose of activating the Boost Aura.
The run-pass option from the pistol formation was meant to further use Marcus to attract the movement of the linebackers, thereby creating space for Lu Ke.
After making a receiving motion, Marcus quickly turned sideways, lowered his center of gravity, and moved horizontally to the right. With the help of Logan and Ginn, he nimbly ran out of the slot, showing the posture of a strong running play.
The feigned motion didn't completely deceive the New York Giants' defensive line. Only one player followed Marcus's footsteps. The other players were still rushing forward and applying pressure according to the established plan, which was also their effective defensive method in the first half.
This was a run-pass option. The New York Giants' defense only swayed a little, and then they aimed at Lu Ke again. But the question was, who was Lu Ke's passing target?
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