After the quick adjustment and quick release, Lu Ke's eyes were fixed on the flying football. It wasn't until Randy Moss completed the "pulling chestnuts out of the fire" catch and his feet were firmly inbounds that his nerves, stretched to the limit, finally relaxed. Lu Ke clenched his fists and powerfully pumped them in the direction of the nearby Chicago Bears' defensive players.

There were no shouts, no roars, just a fist pump.

It wasn't aimed at any specific player, but at the entire defense and the entire battle of offense versus defense. This successful fourth-down conversion for a touchdown wasn't just about scoring; it was a battle of momentum. In this head-on clash between two strong teams, the San Francisco 49ers' offense had ultimately withstood the immense pressure and scored a touchdown in a dominating and hard-nosed way!

Now, the momentum was on the side of the home-team 49ers!

Lu Ke tightly clenched his fists, the strength from his entire upper body bursting forth. His gaze was resolute and sharp, like a laser, scanning every single defensive player. That powerful and fierce determination was unleashed with full force.

The belief that this battle was a sure victory was still in his grasp.

After such a hard-fought touchdown, not to mention the fans at Candlestick Park, even the defense and special teams on the sidelines were cheering. Moss roared and hollered, fully releasing all the pent-up pressure and frustration. This was probably the hardest-earned touchdown for the 49ers' offense so far this season.

After David Akers led the special teams onto the field and kicked a smooth extra point, the home-team 49ers took a temporary 7-0 lead.

Immediately afterward, the Bears' offense and the 49ers' defense took the field again.

On the sidelines, Lu Ke called all the receivers over, both first and second-string players. One of the reasons for their shaky performance in the first two drives was the opponent's excellent defense, which was a crucial factor. But their own mistakes were also a big part of it.

They had to be on alert.

Even though Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis were still not in their best form, even though Logan Newman had two routes cut off, and even though Ted Ginn Jr. hadn't gotten many opportunities today, they still had to step up. Opportunities are not a gift from heaven. If you can't find them, you have to create them with your own hands and feet. This is one of the greatest appeals of football.

While the offense was working hard to get its act together on the sidelines, the defense on the field was growing stronger under the pressure of the opponent's outstanding performance.

Jay Cutler led the Bears' offense, completing two consecutive third-down conversions and stumbling to the vicinity of the midfield. But the 49ers' defense remained highly focused, once again completing two excellent defensive plays to force the opponent into a long-yardage situation of third-and-eight.

Facing this, Cutler had no choice but to throw.

He had succeeded in the previous two third-down conversions by finding Brandon Marshall, clearly relying on the receiver's superior ability to beat the 49ers' cornerbacks. Comparatively, the cornerbacks were indeed the weak link of the 49ers' defense, often getting out of position and having to rely on their safeties to quickly provide support.

This time was no different.

Cutler took a quick snap and threw a quick pass, trying to find Marshall on a short, six-yard slant route, hoping to get a first down through Marshall's individual ability.

But... the third time was not the charm.

Chris Culliver was still trying to hold his position against Marshall, but his ability was simply not on par, and Marshall gained separation with just a small misstep. If the play had continued like this, Marshall would have made another great play. But at the critical moment, Cutler faltered.

Marshall was clearly on a 45-degree angle in front of him, but Cutler's pass was on a 65- to 70-degree angle. The inaccuracy was too ridiculous. The laterally moving Aldon Smith used a quick stop and, without any effort, simply caught the football.

An interception.

It was Cutler again, another interception. A classic game moment.

After completing the interception, Aldon Smith's momentum was barely affected, and he immediately began to return the ball. This caused chaos for the Bears' offense. In the final disarray, the Bears players, who were transitioning from offense to defense, clumsily and with great difficulty tackled Aldon and brought him down on their own 33-yard line.

This meant the 49ers would start their drive on the opponent's 33-yard line.

The advantage and disadvantage brought by two consecutive turnovers instantly highlighted the strategic importance of the defense. The 49ers' defense had created an excellent starting position for their offense, increasing their chances of scoring. The Bears' defense, on the other hand, hadn't been able to grit their teeth to the end in the face of this tough showdown and had lost their advantage.

The same was true for the offenses.

The Bears' offense had a fumble and an interception, continuously digging a hole for their defense. The 49ers' offense, meanwhile, had gritted their teeth to convert a fourth down and score a touchdown.

This back-and-forth began to quietly change the situation on the field. Now, the initiative was back with the 49ers' offense. With such an excellent starting position, could they seize the opportunity? If they could score, would it be a touchdown or a field goal?

Standing on the sidelines, Lu Ke raised his right hand high to high-five the coming-off-the-field Aldon Smith. It was less a celebration of the interception and more a celebration of the defense's dominant performance. They were now putting continuous pressure on the Bears, step by step. Now, the burden of applying pressure was back in the hands of the offense.

Although the Bears had an impressive record of 7-2 this season, Cutler's offense lacked explosive power and resilience. Once the score gap widens, they lack the ability to catch up, and the scales of victory would gradually tilt toward the home team.

Taking the field again, Lu Ke gathered his offensive teammates in a huddle, quickly laid out the plan, and then quickly lined up, ready to attack again.

This time, the 49ers' offense made a subtle adjustment. Vernon Davis and Logan Newman lined up as a two-tight end formation, while Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss were split out as wide receivers.

Ted Ginn Jr. was taken off the field.

The reason for this adjustment was not because Ginn was playing poorly, but because the Bears' defense was tougher in the short-passing area. Harbaugh hoped to use the combination of two tight ends and big wide receivers to get tough yards. Moss's ability to create gaps in zone coverage was more effective than Ginn's deep-threat speed.

And it was immediately effective on the first down.

Vernon and Logan both used their route running to hold their positions in the short-passing area. Crabtree's pick-play with Vernon's route drew the attention of four defensive players. The only exception was Moss on the right, who suddenly used his footwork to create an open space, advancing toward the middle.

The routes of the four receiving players were immediately effective, forcing the defensive line of cornerbacks, safeties, and linebackers to retreat. This was a bulldozer-like, hard-nosed collision, and the sparks from the action and reaction instantly turned the short-passing area into a meat grinder.

Of course, the pass rush from the defensive line still maintained its intensity. But the problem was that the 49ers had surprisingly chosen a run play.

On the first run, Marcus gained a full seven yards under the cover of Crabtree and Vernon on the left before he was finally tackled.

On the second run, Lu Ke used the same trick, handing the ball off to the substituting Frank Gore. When Gore broke through on the right, he ran head-on into Julius Peppers. But because Moss and Logan's route running had pulled Peppers' attention away, Gore was able to break through. He broke through Peppers' tackle and continued to push forward.

He ran a full ten yards before he was finally surrounded and brought down.

With two consecutive run plays, the 49ers achieved incredible results. This was not because Marcus and Gore's performance suddenly improved. On one hand, the 49ers' passing game had been consistently applying pressure, creating space for the run game. On the other hand, the change in personnel at the receiver positions had created more threats in the short-passing area. Even if they were just standing there like roadblocks, the defense had to react.

In any case, after gaining significant yardage on two consecutive runs, the 49ers' offense had now gained a little more space. On the very next play, Lu Ke adopted a quick-snap, quick-pass strategy to speed up the entire offense.

After the snap, Lu Ke made a small adjustment with his feet, raised his arm, and passed the ball to the right. It was a five-yard short pass that didn't even enter the cornerback's defensive zone, finding Logan just a little bit in front of the line of scrimmage.

Before Charles Tillman had time to get into position, Logan had already caught the football against his chest. The entire release and catch took only 1.33 seconds, giving the opposing defense no time to set up. This meant Lu Ke was relying on Logan's individual ability to advance.

The pass was lightning-fast, and Logan had already caught the football in a flash. He turned to push forward, then saw Tillman rushing toward him like a hungry wolf.

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