Chapter 451: The Golden Body Is Broken

Lu Ke realized he had grown arrogant, that he had underestimated his opponent. Even though he had diligently prepared for the game without a hint of complacency, the subtle shifts in his mentality and focus, as well as his changed attitude toward the Cardinals, had all become unknown factors affecting the outcome.

It was as if, in their previous games, the San Francisco 49ers had maintained the mentality of an underdog, always challenging their opponents and fighting with all their might for every win. But in this game, the 49ers saw themselves as the stronger team, believing victory was theirs for the taking. Unconsciously, they were unable to perform at their absolute peak.

In football, the smallest differences in detail can lead to a cascade of consequences, like one of those nine-linked ring puzzles—if any single ring gets stuck, all the other links jam up with it.

For the first interception, his pass was slightly off, Williams was a step slow on his route, and Logan missed a block. Three tiny deviations converged, resulting in Patrick Peterson’s interception. It was no single person’s fault, yet it was everyone’s fault.

For the second interception, he had been a little too impatient. If he had been more composed, even for just the space of a single breath, if he had scanned the field for a moment longer, he would have had more options. Then, the interception might have turned into a lethal, deep-ball strike.

The countless variables in a split second often come down to a single impulse. The only difference was that before, his impulses had always leaned toward the right decision. This time, they leaned toward the wrong one.

Lu Ke had always been well aware that his passing choices were too risky and too aggressive, but that was his style of play, the philosophy he stuck to. The plays themselves weren’t wrong in today’s game, but the sluggishness in execution—or perhaps it was complacency, a lack of proactivity and initiative, a failure to get fired up—that sluggishness piled up, bit by bit, and then came the two interceptions.

Now, Lu Ke had to be thankful that neither interception had led to fatal consequences. After the second one, the Arizona Cardinals failed to capitalize on the opportunity, ultimately only converting a 41-yard field goal. The score was now 0-3.

But the problem was, his own head wasn’t clear, and he was slow to get into the zone. ‘So, how am I supposed to handle the second half?’

If the system hadn’t issued a special mission just before halftime, reminding Lu Ke with a detailed breakdown of his first-half errors—including how his passing accuracy, decision-making, and tactical throws were all below his 100% potential, leading to their passive position—Lu Ke would still have been completely blind to the real problem.

It wasn’t until the system’s prompt that Lu Ke realized his arrogance and complacency. Unconsciously, the 8-1 record, the ubiquitous praise, and the rising tide of adulation had been quietly altering his mentality over the past week. The problem was far more serious than he had imagined.

Fortunately, Lu Ke had the system. Unfortunately, sometimes, just knowing the problem doesn’t mean you can solve it.

During halftime, Lu Ke gathered his teammates on offense. He broke down the problems and analyzed the situation, hoping they would get their heads in the game and realize the Arizona Cardinals weren’t the pushovers they imagined. But his motivational pep talk had very little effect.

He could see it in his teammates’ eyes—they were still relaxed, maybe even too relaxed. Facing the Redbirds Team, they felt they had no reason to worry or be nervous.

It wasn’t just because they had defeated the New York Giants last week; it was also because the Arizona Cardinals’ performance in this game was mediocre. Even with two golden opportunities off turnovers, the first-half score was still only 0-3. They hadn’t pulled away, and the 49ers still felt they were in control.

Lu Ke didn’t give up. He tried to rally them, tried to make them feel the pressure, tried to get them to focus. They seemed to comply on the surface, but it was impossible to know for sure. Only the game itself would reveal the truth.

Unfortunately, the second half was still a disaster.

Lu Ke himself was not blameless. From the quarterback to the Offense Line to the receivers, the entire unit was out of sync. Even Ted Ginn Jr. and Logan Newman, who had been consistently outstanding all season, were stumbling and struggling.

The connection between Lu Ke and Logan was undoubtedly the team’s greatest weapon, but today, Logan alone had a case of butterfingers, ran the wrong route, and failed to get to his spot on time. All three instances resulted in an incomplete pass—fatal mistakes for a receiver.

With no other choice, Hubble had to substitute Vernon Davis in for Logan, hoping to shake up the routes and receiving rhythm to find a groove again. But the problem was, Logan wasn’t the only one having issues.

Ted Ginn Jr. and Michael Crabtree both had issues with dropped passes as well. In this one game, the team had an astonishing four drops—instances where they had successfully caught the football, only to lose their grip with little to no contact, resulting in an incomplete pass.

This was beyond Lu Ke’s control. The play call was right, the pass was accurate, and the touch was perfect, yet they still couldn’t move the chains. It was absolutely deadly. Forced to act, Hubble had to change tactics, sending in Brylen Edwards—who hadn’t played a single snap all season—to try and change the rhythm. But clearly, it was not a good idea.

These were the visible problems on the field, but the invisible ones were still plaguing the 49ers offense. Although the Offense Line didn’t give up a sack, the pocket was collapsing far faster than average. Lu Ke had to make every throw amidst Fierce Waves, facing more passing pressure than in any other game this season—even worse than the one against the Philadelphia Eagles.

This left Lu Ke with no chance to calmly survey his targets. He scrambled out of the pocket twice to complete passes, successfully leading the team on a drive, but such flashes of brilliance were too few and far between, not nearly enough to get the entire San Francisco 49ers offense to gel.

And yet, despite the whole team facing such severe problems, despite the Defense Team struggling with missed tackles, and despite the fact that no one seemed to be at their best, they still kept the score close. Just as the players had thought, the threat posed by the Arizona Cardinals was indeed not that great.

Marcus Lynch scored a rushing touchdown, and Lu Ke led the team into field goal range twice more. David Akens calmly converted both kicks. The score now stood at 13-16. The gap was only three points—a single field goal. The opponent was only ahead of the San Francisco 49ers by one kick.

The game remained a tight contest down to the final moments. At the two-minute warning, Lu Ke still had the ball, having led his team to their own 37-yard line. They still had a chance to tie or even win the game. If they could just get into field goal range, they could force overtime. If they could push it into the red zone, they could go for the game-winning touchdown.

Lu Ke was no rookie to this kind of situation. He wasn’t nervous at all.

The problem was, the whole team was just out of sync today, and the opponent’s disruptive defense was causing real trouble.

“Peterson! Patrick Peterson! My God, the number 21 cornerback, Patrick Peterson! The rookie! A first-year player, the fifth overall pick in the draft! Proving his talent and skill once again! And proving once again that the Cardinals made the right choice on draft day!”

“As a fellow rookie, Peterson has been in phenomenal form against Lu Ke today! He already had an interception in the first half, and now, in the final moments, Peterson ends the game with another interception! He crushes the 49ers’ last-minute comeback hopes and successfully secures the fourth win of the season for the Redbirds Team! Defeating the recently unstoppable San Francisco 49ers on the road! My God! My God! This is an absolutely unbelievable script!”

“On that last drive, the San Francisco 49ers were forced into a difficult fourth-and-eight situation. At the critical moment, Lu Ke once again made a gutsy call and went for the long ball—a 33-yard strike aimed for the End Zone, trying to find his number two receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., for yet another comeback victory!”

“But Peterson refused to let that happen! He read the play perfectly, had Gene locked down in coverage, and picked it off right over his head, ending any and all possibility of a comeback! There are only twenty-one seconds left on the clock, possession goes to the Redbirds Team, and the game is over! The game is officially over!”

“The final score: 13-16! The Redbirds Team hands their division rival its second loss of the season and shatters the San Francisco 49ers’ undefeated home record! What a script! I don’t think anyone could have predicted this before the game started! Patrick Peterson is without a doubt the most outstanding player of the game, having ended it almost single-handedly!”

“What have we just witnessed! What on earth are we witnessing right now!”

…

The clamorous voices had all faded away. Standing in the middle of the field, Lu Ke placed his hands on his hips, his face a mask of dejection and helplessness. Losing wasn’t what was terrible; what was terrible was throwing the game away with an interception. A bitter taste welled up in his mouth, and his mind went completely blank, shutting down entirely. He couldn’t make a sound.

He lifted his head and looked out at the now-silent sea of red before him. Not a single fan had left; everyone was still in their seats, their faces just blank. The sudden, harsh blow had hit every single one of them.

Lu Ke blinked, but found there were no tears. His eyes were incredibly dry. There was only a daze, an endless daze. The second loss of the season had arrived, completely out of the blue.