Chapter 1036: Psychological Shadow

"Touchdown! Clap, clap!"

The simple and clear cheer erupted with an incredible force, like a mushroom cloud from a detonated bomb, sweeping across Candlestick Park. Every viewer watching on TV could deeply feel the powerful spiritual will that burst from within, not to mention the spectators in the stadium.

Emma Watson stood in a VIP box high above Candlestick Park, quietly feeling the vibrations in the air. Her heart began to pound, but she tightly clenched her fists, trying her best to stay calm and not let her true feelings show.

Standing beside her, Sophie Brook was excitedly applauding and cheering along with the fans. She then calmed down with a wide smile and glanced at Emma. Her expression stiffened slightly.

Emma had come to Candlestick Park to watch the game. She said it was to experience the NFL atmosphere firsthand and to warm up for the upcoming Super Bowl, as she would be a female brand ambassador at the Super Bowl final. But after arriving, Emma remained lukewarm and seemed unable to get into the atmosphere, which made things a bit awkward.

As the team’s assistant press officer, Sophie wasn’t supposed to be there, but the team manager, Trent Baalke, and team president, Jed York, didn’t know how to communicate with Emma, so they called Sophie over. After all, as women of similar age, they could always find some common ground in a VIP box filled with testosterone.

However, in Sophie’s opinion, it was difficult, very difficult!

"This offensive drive was really spectacular. Lu Ke’s play-calling was truly one step ahead," Sophie initiated the conversation. Amid the deafening cheers, she had to raise her voice and yell.

Emma gave a polite smile, but it looked more like an emotionless social courtesy. There was no warmth. After a moment of silence, Emma seemed to realize she should say something. She hesitated and then said, "But, if he just ran with the ball, isn’t he worried about getting injured? This is not Rugby after all, is it?"

Rugby is a British sport that was later introduced to the United States. After being modified and evolving, it became the American football we know today. The rules and methods of the two sports have changed significantly. Rugby has more collisions, confrontations, and is more intense.

Sophie didn’t know how to respond because Lu Ke’s runs with the ball had become very, very rare. "...This season, our offensive line has performed very well. Lu Ke has been under very little pressure, which allows him to have more offensive options. I think Lu Ke had his own considerations when he chose to run with the ball."

"..." Emma was silent for a moment. Just when Sophie thought she wouldn’t reply, she added, "But it’s still very dangerous. He should stay in the pocket. Wait, is the place he stands called the pocket?"

"Yes," Sophie nodded, confirming her answer. But that was it. The two of them fell silent again, as if they couldn’t find any more topics to talk about.

But that was fine. After constantly yelling, Sophie’s throat was starting to feel sore, and she could take a break. But she started to wonder:

Emma seemed out of place. So why did she show up? Was it just for work? If so, she must be very tired.

After a while, the special teams had finished their work, and no surprises occurred. The scoreboard changed again, and the offense for the visiting team came on. The home fans immediately switched to a different mode, and their cheers became more aggressive.

The Seattle Seahawks’ offense officially came onto the field. They had to get their heads in the game and shake off the powerful impact of the opponent’s quick and strong touchdown. They had to focus on their offense to stabilize the game. Otherwise, if the offense on the other side of the field got on a roll, things would not be easy.

Russell Wilson could feel the eyes of the world on him, and the pressure was rising!

"Defense! Clap, clap!"

"Defense! Clap, clap!"

"Defense! Clap, clap!"

The cheers in Candlestick Park began to echo through the sky. Unlike the general noise from CenturyLink Field, they sounded like a well-trained army. The unified cheers poured down like thunder. The continuous sound waves and air currents came one after another without stopping.

The shock was enough to make every offensive player on the field feel small and insignificant.

Russell took a deep breath and focused all his attention. He kept telling himself: "I don’t need to be afraid. I’ve already overcome more arrogant and aggressive situations. There’s nothing to worry about with this old opponent on the other side! What’s more, we were mentally prepared for being behind from the start. I don’t need to be nervous. All I need to do now is follow the plan and get into the game. That’s it!"

But... it was not an easy task.

Three minutes later, Russell raised his right leg high and lightly jumped, like a parabolic curve of a football rising. He put more power on his right leg and hoped the ball would go higher and higher, as if doing so would ensure its accuracy.

But Russell realized that his passing accuracy was off. His pass to wide receiver Golden Tate was in the wrong place. The weather, the pre-snap read, the pocket, the away-game interference... all these complex reasons were factors, but the result was simple: the pass was not on the right path.

Then, Russell saw a red jersey appear in the corresponding position. It was Dashon Goldson, the 49ers’ number 38 safety, who was in his best form this season. Although Tate was still trying his best to get to the receiving spot, he was still a half-step short due to the inaccurate pass.

"Interception!"

"Russell Wilson threw a terrible pass. The ball landed awkwardly in the middle of the wide receiver and the safety. It’s hard to tell what his intention was! Safety Dashon Goldson accurately smelled the danger and jumped high in the air, catching the ball!"

"Without a doubt, it’s an interception!"

"Golden Tate saved the day! Tate immediately switched from offense to defense and made a timely tackle on Goldson, preventing him from returning the interception and minimizing the loss!"

"But the Seattle Seahawks still haven’t gotten into a rhythm. This applies to both the offense and the defense. In this offensive drive, Russell’s performance was really disappointing. He didn’t seize the right moment for his read-option plays, which was a fatal misjudgment. And his passing accuracy was clearly off, seemingly affected by the weather, and it ended with an interception."

"Could it be that Russell doesn’t know how to play when facing the San Francisco 49ers? A psychological shadow?"

Teddy, Kirk, and Aikman in the studio brought up an interesting topic. They were just talking, but social media had already exploded.

Russell Wilson doesn’t know how to play against the San Francisco 49ers?

Strictly speaking, it seemed to make sense. This season, in two games against the 49ers, Russell’s quarterback ratings were only 29.8 and 68.34, which were terribly low scores. But on second thought, it seemed too rash, as there were only two games as reference data. The sample size was too small.

What’s more, only two offensive drives had been played in the game so far, one for each team. It would be too hasty to draw a conclusion now.

However, it was undeniable that Russell’s performance on his first offensive drive was not satisfactory.

Before the game, Troy Aikman was worried about the weather’s impact on passing accuracy. This was a factor that couldn’t be ignored.

But after two offensive drives, there were no obvious changes on Lu Ke’s side, while Russell’s passing accuracy was already off.

Of course, the interference of playing away and a slow start could be considered contributing factors, but ending the drive with an interception was ultimately disappointing.

The San Francisco 49ers’ offense came back onto the field. Thanks to the turnover from the interception, they once again had an excellent starting position:

Their own 43-yard line.

This meant that the Seattle Seahawks’ defense had to face Lu Ke’s storm again.

But as soon as Lu Ke came onto the field again, he realized that his storm had to face another powerful challenge from a raging wave. Maybe Russell had a psychological shadow when facing the 49ers, or maybe he didn’t. But what was certain was that the Seahawks’ defense did not have this problem.

The Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, who had joined the team in 2009, had worked with Pete Carroll for three years to build his ideal defense. Lu Ke was one of the team’s biggest opponents in the past two seasons. How could he not be prepared?

Bradley still didn’t change the Seahawks’ defensive strategy. In fact, he further increased the defensive intensity, compressing the space between the front and secondary lines. There was still no blitz, they were still shutting down the running game, and it was still the Legion of Boom, but the intensity and rhythm were noticeably improved.

Lu Ke had just come onto the field and was immediately hit with two consecutive strong waves of pressure. The space to release a pass became noticeably more turbulent.

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