Chapter 428: Hanging by a Thread

At the very center of Candlestick Park, a red tide crashed into a white wave. Red and white churned together, surging forward with tempestuous power. The immense momentum spread across the sea of green, painting a breathtaking picture.

“A sprint! A sprint! The 49ers receivers and the Giants defensive players are all in a dead sprint! Every player is pushing their speed to the absolute limit! This is a long pass, a completely straightforward long-pass play! The offense isn’t using any tricks, and the defense hasn’t made any mistakes. The gap between the first and second lines is growing wider and wider, revealing a huge stretch of green turf! What a spectacular sight!”

Whether on offense or defense, both sides erupted with the unstoppable momentum of a fierce tiger descending a mountain. The players clashed head-on, neither side giving an inch. On one hand, the offense charged forward relentlessly. On the other, the Defense Team had the advantage in numbers. The entire confrontation was a brutal, no-holds-barred inferno.

When two forces collide, the braver one prevails!

This was clearly Lu Ke’s greatest strength: the long pass. But in another sense, this wasn’t his typical style of attack at all. It was clean and simple, the entire play laid out with no frills, almost as if… as if, having exhausted all other options, he had stripped away all the tricks and was relying purely on a head-on collision of absolute strength.

This wasn’t Lu Ke.

Just as Troy’s head filled with questions, his eyes caught a sudden change on the field. His throat tightened, and his words became incredibly rushed:

“Vernon Davis and Chris Kanti! Two players have fallen behind! Their sprinting speed is clearly slower than the others on the field. Ted Ginn Jr. has already blazed past the twenty-yard line and is about to break the fifteen, but Vernon and Kanti have only just crossed the thirty! What’s going on? Something’s not right! This isn’t right!”

It’s true that speed isn’t a Tight End’s strong suit, and Vernon was a Tight End known more for his heavy build and solid running. But in a forty-yard dash, the speed difference between Vernon and Ginn couldn’t possibly be this huge. A ten-yard gap opening up in just two seconds was just too bizarre.

Either Kanti’s tight coverage was constantly harassing Vernon, preventing him from reaching top speed, or…

“The pass! Lu Ke throws the ball! One step back, one step forward—in the span of a single breath, Lu Ke completed the pass from within the pocket. The target is Vernon Davis! God, number eighty-five, Vernon Davis! It’s a ten-yard pass, and it’s complete! Davis makes the catch! He shook off the tight coverage from Kanti and made the reception in a split second!”

“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Vernon! Vernon Davis successfully caught the ten-yard pass, and the San Francisco 49ers have converted on fourth down! This is their second time converting on a fourth-and-long in this game, and the game continues! Jesus Christ! The game is still on! Lu Ke is still leading the San Francisco 49ers, fighting with everything they’ve got!”

In that instant, Troy began to scream, even roaring like a madman. At the same time, Candlestick Park, which had been silent and suppressed for so long, absolutely erupted!

Li Monian had completely lost his mind. He leaped high into the air and just stood on his chair, hands clenched into fists, screaming with wild abandon, “AH! AH! AH!”

Every roar was like that of a lion, cathartically releasing all his pent-up emotions. He forgot the slogans, forgot the cheers, simply venting the extreme excitement. It was a show of defiance to the visiting team and support for the home team. A single, simple sound, yet it burst forth with unimaginable energy.

It wasn’t a Touchdown, but it felt better than one. Facing a desperate fourth-and-six, they had kept their hopes alive, extending their chance for a comeback.

Li Monian was not alone.

Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning also shot to their feet, completely lost in the moment. They roared wildly toward the field, pumping their fists to put pressure on the visiting team. As they shouted, they realized that all five hundred of the Chinese fans had risen as one, joining the frenzied wave of support.

It didn’t matter if they understood the rules of football, knew the game’s progress, or even grasped the gravity of the situation. No one was an exception. In that moment, they became one with Candlestick Park, truly members of the 49ers, taking an unyielding step toward victory!

And so they roared, a collective roar, “AH! AH! AH!” The overwhelming sound came crashing down, so immense that for a moment, it felt as if the world itself had begun to tremble!

…

“In that last offensive play, every player on both the offense and defense was running in a straight line. The scene on the field looked like a track meet. This will surely become one of the most classic highlights of the week.”

“But in the midst of it all, Vernon Davis deliberately slowed his run. Without changing his lane, he silently broke away from the main group of defenders. Then, in a one-on-one man coverage situation, he used a simple emergency stop to throw Chris Kanti off balance, instantly creating a passing window.”

“A passing window of about half a yard, for less than a quarter of a second! But Lu Ke seized it! With a terrifyingly precise pass, Lu Ke found Vernon Davis standing right on the twenty-six-yard line. Vernon barely had to adjust his position, catching the football right at his chest. Brilliant! That was truly brilliant!”

“Facing a fourth-and-six, the San Francisco 49ers were already on the edge of a cliff—half a foot had already slipped into the canyon—but the connection between Lu Ke and Vernon pulled the team back once again. God, my heart is about to explode. This is just too…”

As he spoke, Kirk’s commentary suddenly trailed off. Even watching the replay and re-analyzing that pass, it was still something to marvel at. The seemingly simple play contained a powerful strategic design. More importantly, it fully exploited the receiver’s matchup advantage.

‘This is just unbelievable,’ Kirk thought, finally settling on his classic catchphrase to sum it up. “Anything is possible! It looks like anything is possible right now! The San Francisco 49ers have reached the twenty-six-yard line, and the entire Alliance knows that for Lu Ke, twenty-six yards is well within striking range! Anything is possible!”

…

They had just completed a crucial fourth-down conversion, keeping the hope of the game alive. But Lu Ke showed no sign of joy. Instead, he quickly made a “timeout” signal to the referee, forced to use the team’s final timeout. The game clock stopped at thirty-three seconds.

‘Dammit,’ Lu Ke growled under his breath, expressing his frustration.

Just as the commentator had said, on fourth-and-six, the San Francisco 49ers were on the edge of a cliff, their situation precarious. Lu Ke had no other choice. A successful pass and a fourth-down-conversion—that was the only goal.

Things like getting out of bounds after the catch or managing the clock had to be put aside. If they failed to convert on fourth down, the game would be over instantly, making clock management irrelevant.

In this crisis, Lu Ke had to opt for a pass to the middle of the field. He chose to leverage Vernon’s strength in catching short passes to gain yardage. Compared to Ginn and Logan, who were heavily covered by defenders, Vernon was in a more advantageous position.

And as expected, Vernon didn’t disappoint, making the catch!

But after the successful fourth-down conversion, Lu Ke had to face a harsh reality: there were only thirty-three seconds left on the clock. Less than forty seconds was incredibly tight for setting up a play, especially a long pass. He had no choice but to use their last timeout to stop the clock and set up a new play.

Now, the San Francisco 49ers were out of timeouts. If this next pass play failed, they would have no room to maneuver.

And that was the problem. They knew it, and their opponents knew it. The long pass would undoubtedly be the focus of the Giants’ defense. Moreover, they were at the twenty-six-yard line. Being so close to the End Zone actually restricted their options, giving the Defense Team a smaller area to defend.

‘Dammit.’ Even though Lu Ke knew it was unavoidable, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. The timeout they used for a delay of game in the second half now seemed like a very, very unwise decision. Game experience—that was still what Lu Ke lacked most.

But the frustration and regret were only temporary. After venting, Lu Ke immediately pushed it to the back of his mind. They still had a game to win!

During the timeout, players from both teams returned to the sidelines, huddling around their head coaches to plan their next move. The final thirty-three seconds. The game would be decided here. Now, all the pressure was on the shoulders of the San Francisco 49ers offense and the New York Giants Defense Team. The only question was: who could handle it?

Returning to the field, the New York Giants Defense Team, whose performance had been lukewarm with only occasional flashes of brilliance, was the first to strike!

After the snap, Jason Pierre exploited a tiny gap between Joe Stanley and Anthony Davis—a space barely the width of a door crack. In a flash, he broke through the Offense Line’s pocket, giving Lu Ke no time to react, and cleanly completed the sack.

This was the Giants’ second sack of the game.

The San Francisco 49ers’ Offense Line had been outstanding all game. Their pocket was as solid as a fortress, giving Lu Ke ample protection and time, and they had barely made a mistake. But in this final moment, one small lapse became the turning point of the game. Now, Lady Luck was waving at the New York Giants!

A sack. A loss of four yards, pushing them back to the thirty-yard line. At the same time, and more fatally, the clock was still running, and the San Francisco 49ers had no timeouts left to stop it.

This was truly life hanging by a thread. The final countdown had begun. TICK. TOCK.