Chapter 133 131: Enter the Yellow Flag
Turning his head, Richard Sherman shot a resentful glare toward Lu Ke, staring at him intently. He looked like he wanted to roll up his sleeves and go at it with him.
Lu Ke could feel the sharp gaze, like needles on his back. But he remained unfazed. 'It was just a first down, nothing to make a big deal about.' As for Sherman, dealing with him was just part of the job—like checking off a task. Now, he had to focus and lead the team down the field.
'Sherman is a cornerback in the defensive formation. That's it.'
On the next offensive play, Lu Ke first handed the ball off to Dixon for a run, but it was less effective than hoped. Dixon only gained two yards before the Sea Eagle Team's Defense Line stuffed him and brought him to the ground. Then, on a short screen pass, Lu Ke drew the defenders' attention before passing to Kyle Williams for another smooth first down.
On the next set of downs, Lu Ke went for the same play: a play-action pass. During his calm backpedal, he spotted an opening and launched a thirty-five-yard bomb, looking for Logan Newman roaming on the other side of the field. But under tight coverage from a defender, Logan completely lost his balance and had no chance to make the catch. The pass fell incomplete.
The defense from Brandon Browner, last year's second-team All-American cornerback, was smothering and relentless. In his attempt to catch the ball, Logan had to jostle and pull at Brandon, and they both ended up tumbling to the ground.
The referee threw a yellow flag.
Fouls are a natural part of football, but the use of red and yellow "cards" is different from soccer or basketball. Due to the large field, officials use red and yellow flags. To call a penalty, they pull a flag from their waistband and toss it with a certain flair, making it stand out clearly on the green turf.
The red flag is held by the coaching staff and is used to challenge a referee's call. If a coach questions a ruling during the game, they can throw the red flag to initiate a challenge. If the challenge is successful, the call is overturned. If it fails, the team is charged a timeout.
The yellow flag is held by the officiating crew and is used to signal a penalty. The punishment for a football penalty is a loss of yardage, with the most minor being five yards. The most severe penalties can result in an automatic first down for the offense.
A yellow flag was thrown. The referee determined that Logan had committed a serious foul by pulling and illegally blocking during his route. The offense was penalized and immediately pushed back ten yards.
After fighting so hard to advance to the forty-three-yard line, they were now forced back to the thirty-three.
Logan refused to accept the penalty and followed the referee, protesting the call. But Lu Ke had seen it clearly—there was little room to dispute the call. He waved his teammates over to regroup.
The situation was completely different now. Being pushed back to the thirty-three-yard line was one thing, but more importantly, they now needed to gain twenty yards for a first down. The difficulty had just doubled, and their play-calling options suddenly became much more limited.
The only silver lining was that the penalty had occurred on first down, so the down was repeated. It was now first and twenty.
Jim's voice crackled through the headset in his helmet. "Pistol Formation. Pistol Formation."
On a first and twenty, the Pistol Formation was undoubtedly the most flexible and versatile option. It allowed for a pass, a handoff, or a quarterback scramble. The goal was to gain as much yardage as possible on this first play to ease the pressure for the next two downs.
"The 49ers are in trouble again."
"First and twenty, that's a tough task, especially since this rookie quarterback has no running ability. If it were Cam Newton, if it were Colin Kaepernick, the situation would be completely different. Right now, the 49ers don't have many options."
"Clearly, the Sea Eagle Team's defense has dialed up the pressure, and the 49ers are having trouble keeping pace. The best option for number fourteen right now is to use a mix of run and pass plays to gain some yardage and set up a better punting position. He can't afford to be too greedy."
"Will number fourteen risk another long pass? It won't be easy. The Sea Eagle Team is already consciously taking away the deep routes. If number fourteen takes that gamble, an interception is highly likely."
"This is a tough spot, a real dilemma. Number fourteen looks a little lost out there."
"If they can't get something going on this drive, the 49ers' momentum will be crushed, and the Sea Eagle Team will likely take control of the game."
"The 49ers must be missing Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith right about now. This Chinese-American quarterback looks like he's lost his nerve."
...
Up in the commentary box, a chorus of voices chattered away. On the surface, everyone seemed to be expressing concern for the 49ers, but the undercurrent of schadenfreude was impossible to miss.
Troy Ball was likely the sole exception. "This is a true test under pressure, the first real challenge of number fourteen's career. Lu Ke, welcome to the NFL. This is only the beginning." His words carried a faint hint of anticipation, as if he could foresee something spectacular about to happen.
None of what was happening off the field mattered to Lu Ke. He was busy arranging the formation, then rubbed his hands together. "Game on!"
Once they were lined up again, just as Lu Ke expected, the Sea Eagle Team's defensive formation was unchanged: seven men in the box in a 4-3 front, posturing for a heavy blitz. The four defensive backs in the secondary looked like they were covering the short and intermediate zones, but their steps were consistently drifting deep.
Following Jim's instructions, Lu Ke set up in the Pistol Formation.
After the snap, Dixon charged forward in another play-action fake. As Dixon brushed past, Lu Ke turned and saw his Offense Line spread wide, holding their blocks in one-on-one matchups and completely neutralizing the Defense Line's initial rush. But with the line so spread out, the middle was riddled with holes.
The 49ers' Offense Line consisted of five men. Lu Ke had sent all four of his eligible receivers out on routes. Though it was a Pistol Formation, this was designed as a passing play from the start.
The Sea Eagle Team's four-man Defense Line was unable to break through. Behind them were three linebackers, whose responsibility was to defend against the run and short passes. But with a run now clearly out of the question, one of them blitzed straight ahead.
With the Offense Line spread so wide, there was no one to pick up the blitzer, who broke through effortlessly. Dixon stepped up to meet him, but a running back is still a running back, not a dedicated blocker. A quick move and the defender was past him, continuing his charge toward Lu Ke.
In the face of imminent danger, Lu Ke didn't panic. Instead, he grew even calmer as he scanned for an open target.
Two Wide Receivers to the left; one Wide Receiver and one Tight End to the right. As the play developed, one of the receivers from the left ran a route across to the right side. This concentrated three receivers on the right, but there were four defenders in the area—
The Sea Eagle Team had opted for zone coverage. Of the three linebackers, the two who didn't blitz also dropped back. One stayed in the short-pass area while the other joined his teammates in the secondary to provide support.
The entire field unfolded before Lu Ke's eyes in three-dimensional clarity. To his right, three receivers were running three distinct routes. The four defenders were scattered in a zone coverage scheme, ready to react and provide support, but their positioning was dispersed—
one defender was charging up from the short zone, two were closing in from deep, and only one was positioned in the middle of the three receivers.
'There's an opening. A dangerous one, but it's there.'
In that split second, Lu Ke didn't think or hesitate. His arm went up, and he threw—a clean, decisive motion. The football traced a tight arc as it shot out like a bullet from a gun.
"Number fourteen in the Pistol Formation! The snap! The Offense Line holds, fending off the Sea Eagle Team's initial rush, but the pocket is collapsing—it's breaking down completely! Number fourteen throws—an opening! There's an opening again! Number eighty-eight, Newman! Logan Newman slams on the brakes, finds a soft spot in the coverage between four defenders, and makes a solid, clean catch! No problem at all!"
Troy Ball's commentary fired off like a machine gun, a rapid-fire burst with no pause.
"Newman! It's Newman again! He turns, accelerates, and keeps pushing forward! Oh, the Sea Eagles' number twenty-five, Richard Sherman, is completely out of position—Newman just shook him off! In a desperate move, Sherman grabs for Newman's jersey, trying to commit a penalty to stop the play, but he fails! Newman is running too strong! Sherman loses his balance and his positioning and can't get a grip! Newman keeps going! He's sprinting toward the end zone!"
All of Candlestick Park erupted. The screams and shouts rolled through the stadium like a tsunami, and Troy's voice was like a tiny boat in a hurricane, threatening to be overwhelmed at any second.
"Four Sea Eagle Team defenders are closing in, surrounding Newman! Newman! NEWMAN! NEWMAN! He breaks the first tackle attempt! Then number thirty-one for the Sea Eagles, Kam Chandler, makes the hit! He goes for Newman's legs, flipping him over and finally ending the run, but not before Newman broke past the twenty-five-yard line!"
Troy exclaimed in disbelief, "Number fourteen did it! He actually did it again!"
Forced back to their own thirty-three-yard line by a penalty, they faced a daunting first and twenty. Yet, under such unfavorable circumstances, Lu Ke had remained calm and sharp. He made an accurate, daring twenty-two-yard pass, somehow finding a window between four Sea Eagle Team defenders. Logan made the catch and kept running, surging deep into Sea Eagle territory before finally being brought down at the twenty-three-yard line.
Not only had they secured the first down, earning a fresh set of downs, but they had also stormed past midfield. Now, just outside the twenty-yard line, a Touchdown was well within striking distance!