American Football: King of the Bay Area

”This is truly turning into a dreadful day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a misjudgment on their first defensive down, they’ve been caught in a spiral of mistakes. Their momentum has been completely smothered by their opponent—one wrong step leading to another. The Buccaneers’ offense was on the field for less than sixty seconds before their drive ended with an interception. Now, they can only watch as Lu Ke takes the field again. It’s an absolute nightmare.”

In the broadcast booth, Kirk and Teddy, as neutral commentators, still had to break down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive blunder.

”On a second-and-six, the Buccaneers’ quarterback, Josh Freeman, made an outrageous error. Number nineteen, wide receiver Mike Williams, was running an out route, but Freeman’s pass was significantly off-target. It was picked off mid-air by the 49ers’ number fifty-two, inside linebacker Patrick Willis, who made a diving, spectacular interception.”

The replay of the interception appeared on the screen again. Kirk maintained his professional demeanor. ”The Buccaneers’ offense line was facing a powerful blitz. Under pressure, Freeman rushed the throw, but with a clear passing lane, he made a fatal error in judgment. The communication with his wide receiver completely broke down. Willis got his first interception of the season, and it was an easy one, without much of a challenge. This mistake has to be put on Freeman.”

”After a phenomenal season last year, Freeman is having serious issues with mistakes this new season. His passing choices and release judgment have been unconvincing. Over the past four weeks, he’s only thrown for two touchdowns against two interceptions. Freeman is really being put through a severe test right now,” Teddy summarized briefly. ”So, now Lu Ke is leading the 49ers’ offense back onto the field. With such an excellent starting field position, it all comes down to Lu Ke’s performance.”

”Haven’t you noticed?” Kirk pointed out the detail, and everyone else immediately saw it too. ”This starting field position is the exact same spot where the San Francisco 49ers just scored a passing touchdown a minute ago.”

An interception, a turnover, is fatal for any team. If the interception happens right on the edge of your own end zone, it’s even more of a nightmare, because the opponent gets to start their offense right there—

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had to feel fortunate that after Willis made the interception, he lost his balance and fell to the ground immediately. The offensive players swarmed him, preventing him from running it back for a pick-six. However, stopping the red-hot San Francisco 49ers offense was now an equally difficult challenge.

On the opponent’s 33-yard line.

The entire offense huddled around Lu Ke. He relayed the play call from the coaching staff, then clapped his hands. ”Alright, we need to start over from scratch. Focus up, everyone, focus up! Don’t get careless! Come on, let’s get some touchdowns!”

Positioned on the defensive line, Michael Bennett let out a long breath. Everything had happened so fast since the game started. They didn’t even have time to think; it all came at them like a flood. They’d retreated one step, then another, and in the blink of an eye, they were here.

Watching his opponents take their positions with ease, Bennett’s gaze burned as he studied the 49ers’ offensive formation. His brow furrowed once again. It was the two-by-two formation again. ’Damn it,’ he cursed under his breath.

The so-called two-by-two formation was the same one the San Francisco 49ers had used on their first offensive down today. It was a basic Pistol Formation, with two receivers on the left and two on the right. There were no extra frills; the distance between the receivers was practically identical, a textbook diagram of the Pistol Formation.

Its standard nature was precisely what made it so versatile. They could pass, they could run. They could go deep, or they could throw short. The route combinations were endless. The Buccaneers also had to count themselves lucky that Lu Ke wasn’t a mobile quarterback; otherwise, with a read-option, they would also have to guard against a sudden scramble by the quarterback.

On the first offensive down today, the San Francisco 49ers had unexpectedly chosen to run the ball, catching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers completely off guard. Now, facing the same offensive formation again, the Buccaneers had no choice but to change their defensive tactics—

Not out of fear, but because they were now on their own 33-yard line, not the opponent’s 20-yard line. The defensive strategy had to be adjusted, or the consequences would be dire.

Bennett looked up and signaled to his teammates. They adjusted their defensive strategy.

Two cornerbacks lined up on the outside to cover the two outermost wide receivers. Two safeties were positioned slightly more to the inside, but they were back about six or seven yards, matching up against the two inner receivers. It was a man-to-man coverage scheme, locking down all four wide receivers. At the same time, they were defending the intermediate and deep parts of the field. So what about the short passes?

The short-pass area was left to the three linebackers. The linebackers abandoned their blitz, dropping back to focus on defending the short field. This was to prevent the kind of shallow crossing route that Crabtree ran on the previous touchdown play. They were assigned to cover the two inner receivers’ short routes, slowing down after they entered the deep field and handing them off to the safeties for support.

In other words, the three linebackers and the four defensive backs formed layered coverage, blanketing all the passing lanes.

Finally, the four defensive linemen were responsible for stopping the run and mounting a pass rush—at the very least, they couldn’t let the opposing quarterback throw comfortably. They had to apply pressure. If someone was missed in run defense, the three linebackers would be there in the short field to make the tackle.

Does this tactic sound a bit familiar? In Week 2 of the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys’ successful first-half defense utilized this very strategy, truly maximizing the power of their pass defense. However, the Buccaneers’ secondary was relatively weak, so they had to rely on cover support and help each other out; otherwise, they had almost no advantage in man-to-man coverage.

It was a classic offensive formation versus a classic defensive formation, a true head-on collision.

Bennett’s focus was razor-sharp. His back left foot continuously dug into the turf, like a motorcycle engine revving up. His eyes were glued to the number fourteen quarterback standing behind the offense line, making no attempt to hide his intention to blitz. Then, a command exploded in his ears:

”HUT!”

Bennett charged forward with abandon, but unexpectedly, Mike Rupati, the player he was matched up against, seemed to have anticipated his blitz route. A brutal, powerful collision, like hitting a solid wall, met him head-on. Bennett’s center of gravity shifted violently, and his feet stumbled. Then he saw the number fourteen quarterback raise his arm to throw.

’Not good!’

Bennett lowered his center of gravity, scrambling awkwardly on his hands and knees to keep from falling. In just three or four steps, he was back on his feet and charging toward Marcus Lynch, who had come into his view.

Lynch, number twenty-seven for the San Francisco 49ers, the running back.

In a two-by-two formation, every receiver is covered man-to-man, sometimes even double-teamed. So, the running back alters his route, breaking out into a short passing route to create a mismatch against the last remaining middle or inside linebacker. The running back often has a slight advantage in this situation, making it the best option to break a stalemate or exploit a defensive mismatch.

This was a short-pass strategy most frequently used by the New England Patriots—nearly impossible to defend and highly effective. There were also countless variations.

Now, Bennett had caught sight of Lynch. The Buccaneers’ middle linebacker, Mason Foster, was a rookie who had just entered the league this year and was undoubtedly the weakest link in the defense team. He had already made a mistake on the first drive. So, Bennett trusted his on-field instincts and immediately lunged forward to provide support for Foster.

Lynch was light on his feet yet powerfully built. A simple inside cut route instantly made Foster lose his balance, stumbling as he struggled to keep up. But Foster was still relentlessly trying to make the play. This only strengthened Bennett’s conviction. His steps quickened, and he charged forward like a moth to a flame, trying to stop Lynch.

But in the next second, out of the corner of his eye, Bennett caught the reddish-brown football carving an arc through the air. It spun rapidly within a blurry halo of light, its shuttle-like rotation clearly visible.

”Damn it!”

Bennett cursed fiercely again. The pass wasn’t going to Lynch—he had been fooled! After abandoning the blitz, the San Francisco 49ers’ pocket was rock-solid, giving the opposing quarterback a comfortable space to throw from. And now, their own defense was facing even greater challenges.

’This is an absolute disaster!’

’I can’t believe I fell for it!’

In terms of tactical planning and adjustments, the Buccaneers were once again a step behind, completely unable to keep up with the 49ers. They had repeatedly studied the game tapes from the previous four weeks and felt they had a good handle on the rookie quarterback. But since the start of today’s game, the quarterback had kicked it into an even higher gear, giving them no room to breathe right from the kickoff.

’What in the world is going on?’

But in that split second, his brain had no time to process. The next moment, the breath held tight in his chest rushed out all at once. His body crashed heavily to the ground, sending up a spray of grass and completely robbing him of his ability to make a second move. Now, their only hope was the secondary.

Bennett’s eyes remained glued to the football, following its trajectory, wondering who the intended target was.

’Logan Newman? Or Kyle Williams?’