Chapter 964: Morale Soars

The distance of just 19 yards seemed to be covered in the blink of an eye.

At this moment on the field, the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive players were running with all their might.

On the left, Vernon Davis and Randy Moss were running in a straight line—even Moss was. He abandoned his flashy and chaotic running routes and advanced toward the end zone with light and fast steps.

The defense’s coverage on this side still hadn’t changed. The cornerback and safety were covering Moss on the outside, and the outside linebacker was covering Vernon on the inside. However, the two players’ running styles were completely different:

Moss was like a loach. Even in a straight line, his feet and body were constantly shaking and shifting. He could make nine turns in a distance of 19 yards. Vernon, on the other hand, was charging forward with his head down, showing an unstoppable momentum.

At the same time, in the slot behind Vernon, Gore, who had just come in, also ran over quickly. With Vernon’s powerful blocking, he was trying to create a gap, and the middle linebacker, Mayo, immediately got entangled with him, executing a close-range defense and blocking all of Gore’s receiving positions.

On the right, Chad Hall and Logan Newman were also running in a straight line. The coverage on this side had changed. The outside linebacker and safety were covering Logan, and the cornerback was covering Hall. The position of the entire secondary defense moved forward slightly.

Logan’s steps were originally moving forward on the inside. At the same time, his steps were also getting closer to the slot, continuing to cut inside, forcing the outside linebacker Tracy White’s space to continuously compress.

Originally, White only needed two steps to get into position to cover Logan, but as soon as he took the first step, Logan moved closer, which forced him to continuously step back to adjust and match Logan’s running rhythm. Otherwise, he would lose his balance and then lose his position.

When he had run about six or seven yards, Logan suddenly made a move to the outside, charging toward the 60-degree angle to his right. In addition, his speed was fully unleashed. He was almost a lone horse running at one and a half to two times the speed. White, who was still stepping back to adjust his balance, stumbled. By the time he started to run again to cover, he was already too late.

It was because of this that the opportunistic safety Steve Gregory moved forward on his own and began to block all of Logan’s potential routes.

But unexpectedly, Logan’s steps stopped without any warning. He didn’t make any special moves. He just stood there like a roadblock, destroying the matchup between Hall and Aqib Talib.

At that moment, Lu Ke threw the ball. Logan started running again. Hall changed his route.

Then, all eyes were cast toward the landing spot of the ball. The target was... Chad Hall!

Hall, on the right, started to move forward in a straight line. He only saw one person in his sight, cornerback Aqib Talib. He had just run less than five yards when Talib quickly got close, making a lot of small movements to constantly harass Hall’s route and pace. But Hall was still not affected. He moved forward stubbornly and firmly, even if he had to run into Talib’s chest.

Before the snap, Lu Ke had instructed him to run according to the play. From Hall’s understanding, Lu Ke probably needed him to contain this cornerback instead of getting open, in order to create a receiving space for other teammates.

So, Hall and Talib were tightly entangled with each other, stumbling and running about ten yards. Then Hall’s steps began to move toward the end zone to his left.

"He’s doing it again?"

Talib’s pupils suddenly contracted. The previous touchdown was lost this way. There was no way he would make the same mistake twice. Was that quarterback on the other side an idiot? How could he choose to repeat the play?

Talib followed Hall’s steps closely, but he soon realized that this was not a post route. It was just a lane change, as if he was moving from lane one to lane three. Hall and Talib were originally close to the sideline, and after moving two big steps to the inside, Hall continued to move forward.

This made Talib lose his balance a little. But it was not a big deal. He still stuck to Hall.

But then, he caught a glimpse of a wooden post. There was a path between Hall and the post that was wide enough for two people to pass through. But the problem was that Talib’s running route was a diagonal line in order to follow Hall. Now that he was switching to a straight line, he had to switch back to a diagonal line to avoid the post.

The continuous change of balance in a short period of time made Talib lose his focus a little. He narrowly avoided the post, and in the next second, he saw Hall’s speed pick up, instantly creating a gap of one body length between them.

At this time, there were only less than seven yards left to the end zone. A body length meant...

Hall tried his best to increase his speed, charging forward with big strides. He could see Logan in the back diagonally to his right. Logan was only half a step behind him. The two of them were running a "100-meter dash" side by side between lane three and lane two. Both of them could be the target of the pass, depending on where the ball landed.

When his feet crossed the five-yard line, Hall saw the ball quickly dropping. Without any hesitation, his pace became faster and faster. He leaned his upper body forward as much as possible, stretched out his hands, and watched the ball about to drop below his shoulder line. This would double the difficulty of catching the ball.

Hall stomped his feet and threw his entire body out. Then his fingertips could touch the ball. With a slight push to the inside, the ball rolled down his palm and forearm like a tired bird returning home. There was no time to think in a flash. He could only pull his hands to his chest and use the bend of his elbows to control the ball. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In the next second, the powerful force of gravity came rushing toward him like a tide.

"Beep! Touchdown!"

The referee immediately blew the whistle and confirmed the touchdown with a hand gesture. Then Logan quickly shook off Gregory, raised his hands high, also made a touchdown gesture, and charged toward the fallen Hall, shouting ecstatically, "Touchdown! It’s a touchdown! We scored a touchdown!"

Chad Hall was a little dazed. Before he could savor the moment, his teammates on offense swarmed him, one after another, piling on top of him. His ears were filled with a buzzing noise, constantly repeating the same word, "Touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown!"

They scored a touchdown again?

He scored a touchdown again?

The sense of reality was still a little ethereal, but the heavy pressure on his body was clearly reminding Hall that he had scored a touchdown again.

So, Hall shouted at his teammates who were piling on top of him, "Touchdown! We scored a touchdown! Jesus Christ, we scored a touchdown again!"

At "Joe’s Bar," the fans in front of the TV, with their hands clasped together or their fists clenched, were holding their breath and staring at the small screen. They were both nervous and excited, and it seemed as if their hearts had stopped beating.

When the referee’s whistle blew, everyone collectively raised their hands high, and the cheers erupted like a volcanic eruption, powerful and fierce. "Ahhh! Ahhh!" As their eyes met and their shouts collided, that surging passion was released freely.

The entire bar had become a sea of cheers.

Yes, they knew that the score was still behind, that time was still scarce, and that the situation was still bad. Yes, they knew that this was San Francisco and that Foxborough was on the other side of the North American continent. Yes, they knew that the team’s form seemed to have come too late, and that Belichick and Brady would definitely not give up their advantage so easily.

But so what?

Their team was finally back. The team that was persistent and never gave up was finally back. The team that would not let go of a single chance to win, even in a desperate situation, was finally back. This was the most important thing. The frustration and worry of the past two weeks could now finally be put down for a while.

One touchdown. That was enough.

The world of fans was that simple.

The entire city of San Francisco was in an uproar. Every bar, every shopping mall, and every street. All the fans couldn’t help but stop and watch the live broadcast of the game on the big and small TV screens. At this moment, they were with the team, with the same breath, the same heartbeat, and the same pulse.

That earth-shattering cheer echoed through the sky!

At the same time, the atmosphere at Gillette Stadium was a little subdued.

The home fans really couldn’t believe their eyes. It was not only because they gave up another touchdown but also because the way they gave up the touchdown was so frustrating. In nine plays—five runs and four passes—the New England Patriots only made one effective defensive stop. All the other defenses were retreating step by step, and in the end, they gave up a touchdown without any suspense.

They had no power to fight back?

Is this... is this real? Is all this really happening? If so, is the San Francisco 49ers’ offense really unstoppable?

This dull and oppressive atmosphere continued until both teams’ special teams left the field. The score was now "33-21." Now, they were just two touchdowns away from taking the lead. The suspense of the game was back. But when Brady came back on the field, Gillette Stadium came back to life.

How could they forget?

As long as Belichick and Brady were still on the team, they were the most stable and powerful team in the league. When they encountered any difficulties, they just had to believe in them.

So, the enthusiasm of the home team was rekindled.

But this time, it only lasted for less than three minutes before the fire of enthusiasm was extinguished again.

Interception. Tom Brady threw his first interception of the game.

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