American Football: King of the Bay Area

Standing in the pocket behind the Offense Line, Lu Ke tapped his helmet, not with anger or anxiety, but with a hint of frustration.

Before the game started, the entire team was in a state of frenzied excitement. The roar from the stadium made every player’s blood pump, and the pre-game rally was filled with roars. But now, it seemed like everyone was a little too hyped up, including Lu Ke himself.

On the first running play, Marcus Lynch started too aggressively, his feet slipping slightly. Before he had a chance to find an opening, he slammed straight into a wall of players. Not losing any yardage or fumbling the ball was already considered lucky.

On the second pass, Crabtree clearly overran his route. It was a six-yard pass, but he somehow ran a full eight yards before stopping. After slamming on the brakes, he attempted an over-the-shoulder catch, but his fingertips didn’t even graze the football.

On the third pass, Vernon did complete the catch, but Lu Ke’s pass had a little too much heat on it. The bullet pass hit Vernon on the right shoulder. Vernon made an incredibly awkward catch, and the force was so great he barely managed to hang onto the ball. The moment he turned, he ran right into a tackle—Logan Newman had somehow missed his block.

Three offensive downs, and it wasn’t because the opponent’s Defense Team was playing out of their minds. Rather, their own entire offense seemed to be running too hot. Each play had a small mistake, and in the blink of an eye, they were facing fourth down. Three and out.

Fourth and three. This was only the opening drive of the game, and the San Francisco 49ers were still on their own 27-yard line. There was absolutely no reason to go for it on fourth down. If they failed to convert, their opponents would automatically take over on offense from the previous line of scrimmage.

In other words, if they went for it now and failed, the New York Giants would start their drive just 27 yards from the 49ers’ End Zone. That was well within striking distance. The reason Eli Manning could so often mount fourth-quarter comebacks was his outstanding deep-ball ability. He was also incredibly daring, never hesitating in crucial moments, which made him nearly impossible to defend against.

Besides, on fourth down, three yards was considered a long way to go. It wasn’t like one yard, where you could just use the running back’s physique to brute-force your way through. Three yards required a coordinated play, and the risk was simply too great.

So, punting was the best choice at this moment.

Looking back at the last three downs, Lu Ke himself didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The performance could even be described as a complete mess.

Letting out a soft breath, Lu Ke was about to signal his teammates to leave the field and hand it over to the special teams. But then, Jim Hubble’s voice came through his headset, “Bambi, do you dare to go for it on this fourth down?”

“…” Lu Ke froze for a moment. “I’m fine with it, of course, but Coach…”

‘In the last three downs, there wasn’t actually anything wrong with the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive rhythm. It was just that the players were too hyped. One small mistake plus another led to a three-and-out. I’m completely confident I can gain three yards, but… this is fourth and three. What if the offense keeps messing up?’

“Then let’s give it a shot,” Hubble said decisively, without a hint of hesitation.

Lu Ke’s eyes widened. He glanced toward the sideline, where Hubble was crisply rolling up his sleeves as if readying for a brawl. After building up confidence from several dominant victories in recent weeks, Hubble had grown bolder. His play-calling and control of the game’s rhythm showed the daring of a master craftsman.

If they failed the fourth-down conversion, the worst-case scenario was the New York Giants coming onto the field and scoring a Touchdown immediately. The home team would be down 0–7 less than two minutes into the game. Anything was possible; it was a deficit they could afford to risk. But if they succeeded, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense could stay on the field and continue to find their rhythm—

More importantly, it would be a huge shot in the arm for the home fans!

Lu Ke tilted his head slightly and couldn’t help but smile. ‘Looks like Hubble is running a little hot right now, too. But it really shows his immense confidence in the San Francisco 49ers’ offense. Even if they went down by a Touchdown at home, he trusts the offense to claw their way back easily.’

That confidence flowed from the top down: from the coaching staff to the players and all the way to the fans. The San Francisco 49ers now truly carried themselves with the swagger of a top team. However, whether this was blind arrogance or a reflection of their actual skill could only be tested by the game itself.

And as for that, Lu Ke was more than willing to embrace the challenge.

So, Lu Ke turned and called out to his offensive teammates, “Stay on the field! Everyone, stay on! We’re going for it!”

For a second, the offensive players couldn’t process what was happening. They stared at Lu Ke, dumbfounded and utterly bewildered. Their movements froze for a heartbeat, their faces blank with confusion. But it was only for a moment. Then, without a single question or look of surprise, they all turned with crisp discipline and headed for the line of scrimmage to get into formation.

It was as if they weren’t facing fourth and three against the New York Giants, but just a simple first and three. Their leisurely, self-assured composure was an exact mirror of their head coach, Hubble.

Now it was Lu Ke’s turn to laugh in spite of himself.

“…Uh, on the field, hmm, wait a minute, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense is staying out there. They’re going for it on fourth down, God! The 49ers are going for it on fourth! Jesus Christ!” Teddy Williams could hardly believe his eyes. A collective gasp of astonishment rippled through Candlestick Park. Then, Teddy couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “The Giants’ players certainly didn’t see this twist coming either.”

On the field, players from the New York Giants Defense Team were already trickling toward the sideline. But then they saw their coaches waving their arms frantically, pushing them back and signaling for them to get back on the field. The stunned players looked back, only then realizing what was happening. They hastily put their helmets back on and scrambled back onto the gridiron.

The first surprise since kickoff had thrown the game’s rhythm into disarray.

“The players on both sides seem a bit confused, with the 49ers deciding to go for it on fourth. This is the very first drive of the game, and facing a long fourth and three, they’ve made an unexpected choice. We don’t know what exactly happened within the coaching staff, but for now, let’s just watch this fourth-down attempt.”

Sitting next to Teddy, his commentary partner, Kirk, also chuckled in disbelief. After that brief lead-in, he brought the viewers’ attention back to the live game.

…

After the new play was called, Lu Ke stood behind the Offense Line, unhurriedly surveying the opposing defensive formation. His calm and collected demeanor made it seem as if he had this fourth-down conversion in the bag. There was no trace of panic. On the contrary, it was the Giants’ Defense Team players who seemed to be scrambling—

They had thought their third-down stop had forced a three-and-out, but suddenly the offense was back on the field, acting deliberately mysterious. The whole situation had an odd, baffling feel to it.

In the sudden rush, it was inevitable that their focus would waver. However, they were professionals. They immediately began to concentrate, pushing all distracting thoughts from their minds to focus solely on this one defensive down.

Defensive Tackle No. 97, Linval Joseph, was one of them.

As a second-round rookie from the previous year, a year of competition and hard work had earned him the starting Defensive Tackle position, firmly cementing his place on the team. Just last week, he had gotten the first sack of his career, taking down elite quarterback Tom Brady, which had sent his confidence soaring.

Faced with this sudden fourth-down stand, Linval didn’t panic. Instead, he started to get fired up. He knew that if they could make this stop, they would secure excellent starting field position for their offense and set the tone for the entire game.

‘This moment, this turning point, could be the key to the whole game! And I could be one of the heroes who clinches the victory for the team!’

Linval’s excitement began to build. He kept shifting his left foot, like he was revving a motorcycle engine. VROOM, VROOM. The imaginary motor spun faster and faster. His eyes were locked on Lu Ke behind the Offense Line, a look of ambitious, ferocious greed in them.

‘Fourth and three,’ Linval thought. ‘There’s no way they can convert this.’

“…Hawaii, Ha…waii, Hawa…ii, Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii…” In the quiet stadium, Lu Ke’s dizzying cadence rang out with perfect clarity, echoing in everyone’s ears. But the actual command to snap the ball never came, stretching the tension between the opposing lines tighter and tighter.

Linval caught the play clock at the end of the field in his peripheral vision. Every offense has forty seconds to snap the ball, and that clock was there as a warning for the quarterback. Exceeding the time would result in a yellow flag: delay of game. Right now, the clock was ticking down into its final five seconds.

“Hawaii! Hi…KE! Hike-hike-hike! HIKE!”

‘Here it comes!’

Linval didn’t rush. He wasn’t impulsive. He waited patiently, his senses sharp, catching the snap count. He cut through the layers of fog in the complex cadence, seeing right through the rookie quarterback’s dazzling ploy. In that instant, the spring wound to its breaking point was released.

He exploded off his left foot, launching forward like a rocket, and then—CRASH—he slammed into the wall of linemen. ‘What’s going on?’ Before Linval could even process it, he heard the referee’s whistle blow again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the linemen on both sides standing up, breaking out of their stances and relaxing.

False start.

It was actually a false start!