Chapter 759: An Easy Victory
Jim Harbaugh has gone crazy.
Or, to be more precise, Jim Harbaugh is deliberately provoking the Detroit Lions' pride.
With nine seconds left in the first quarter, and the home team leading "14-0," Harbaugh chose a field goal instead of a punt on fourth down from the forty-six-yard line. It was a bizarre tactic, showing a complete disregard for the opponent. The act was so obviously a provocation and a joke.
No matter the outcome, the Detroit Lions would feel completely humiliated.
Everyone thought it was a farce, even the San Francisco 49ers fans. Harbaugh was clearly having fun and didn't seem worried about the Lions' offense getting the ball back at the forty-six-yard line if the field goal failed. Without Denver's windy environment, tying the record for the longest field goal in history in the Bay Area was an almost impossible task.
Setting aside Denver's "Mile High" altitude, only Tom Dempsey in 1970 in New Orleans had ever accomplished such a feat.
But since the 49ers had a huge lead and their defense was in great shape, there was no harm in trying. It was more like a game of "Tom and Jerry," teasing the opponent.
The one hundred fifty thousand fans inside and outside Candlestick Park all thought so, but they didn't mind at all. They all stood up and cheered for the special teams led by David Akers.
"Field goal! Clap clap! Field goal! Clap clap! Field goal! Clap clap!"
Candice stood up! Curry stood up! Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning stood up! All the fans in the stadium stood up without exception, shouting two syllables in unison, accompanied by the sound of their hands clapping in rhythm, cheering for their team with overwhelming force.
But for the special teams, there was no joking around.
The second-string quarterback, Scott Tolzien, once again came out as the holder. Kicker David Akers walked onto the field, bent down, grabbed a few blades of grass, and carefully tested the wind direction and speed. He meticulously prepared for the field goal, as if it was just a normal kick.
With all eyes on him, Akers stood in his familiar position, waiting for the referee's whistle. Then he saw the football fly steadily toward him. Scott accurately caught the football and skillfully placed it on the grass, holding it upright.
The run-up, the kick, the follow-through.
Akers' lower leg went straight, and all the power was focused on the instantaneous burst of muscle. Then, all the eyes in the world focused on the high-flying football, which was spinning quickly and flying freely, drawing a breathtaking rainbow arc. It left a lazy and lovely contrail in the clear blue sky, then wobbled and fell toward the goalposts.
Closer, and even closer!
The football tumbled end over end, then it barely grazed the bottom of the goalpost and rolled in.
The field goal was successful!
"Whoa!"
The entire stadium was stunned. The next moment, their consciousness returned to their bodies. Excitement and exhilaration surged and boiled in their blood, and they all celebrated!
"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Unbelievable!"
"David Akers, the thirty-eight-year-old veteran kicker, has a highlight moment at the end of his career. He has tied the record for the longest field goal in history, sixty-three yards, a sixty-three-yard field goal! He succeeded! Oh my God, oh my God! David Akers has made history! He has become the fourth kicker in history to achieve this feat!"
"Unstoppable! Today's San Francisco 49ers are absolutely unstoppable!"
Following last week's game, the 49ers' special teams once again showed their dominance! They shined throughout the league with their amazing performance!
"17-0." The first quarter officially ended, and the home team, the San Francisco 49ers, had a perfect first quarter, completely dominating the game with their undisputed excellent form.
Basically, this was the tone of the game.
With a powerful offense, an excellent defense, and a stable special teams unit, the San Francisco 49ers' performance in their first home game of the new season was perfect.
It wasn't until the middle of the second quarter that the Detroit Lions slowly found their rhythm. It was still thanks to Calvin Johnson. Facing two defensive players, Calvin, with his absolute personal ability, overpowered the defensive players and made a spectacular, highly difficult jump ball. Carlos Rogers was forced to commit a foul but still couldn't stop Calvin.
Then, despite losing his balance, Calvin relentlessly continued to advance. If Dashon Goldson hadn't refused to give up after falling, and kept chasing, and finally barely knocked Calvin out of bounds, it would have been a long touchdown run.
Thanks to Dashon's tough defense, the touchdown in this drive was turned into a field goal. The defense then successfully forced the opponent into a three-and-out, and facing a fourth-and-four situation, the Detroit Lions chose a field goal to break the scoreless tie.
Unfortunately, in the clash of offensive intensity, the Detroit Lions were far from being able to compete with the San Francisco 49ers.
Every time the Lions' offense showed momentum to catch up, the 49ers' offense became even stronger. This also boosted the morale of the 49ers' defense, putting double pressure on the Lions' offense, forcing their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, to be tough and try to keep up with the offensive rhythm. The result was—
More turnovers.
In just the first half, Stafford had two interceptions and one fumble, and all three turnovers resulted in a change of possession.
It was a perfect storm. The offense couldn't stay on the field for a long time, which meant the Detroit Lions had lost their weapon to compete. With the powerful cheers from Candlestick Park, they were in a constant state of retreat. At the same time, they handed over the initiative of the game to the opposing offense, who steadily built on their lead little by little.
Time after time, it was a vicious cycle.
When the game ended, the final score was "38-10."
For the Detroit Lions, they only scored a field goal in the first half. In the second half, in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of the opponent's defense slightly lowering its intensity, "Megatron" Calvin once again stepped up, turning a six-yard short pass into a fifty-five-yard touchdown run, a complete solo performance.
Other than that, that was it. The offense that was so dominant last season was completely shut down. Besides Calvin, almost all the other players were invisible. The offensive line also allowed three sacks, leaving Stafford constantly on the run and completely lost in the opponent's flood.
For the San Francisco 49ers, they scored twenty-four points in the first half and fourteen in the second. It was obvious that the offense had consciously adjusted its pace in the second half. They weren't as aggressive and focused more on controlling the game, avoiding injuries, and winning in a more relaxed way.
This was especially true of Lu Ke's performance.
In the entire game, Lu Ke only had two passing touchdowns, both of which came in the first half, one to Ted Ginn and one to Vernon Davis. The team's other three touchdowns were all running touchdowns, two from Marcus and one from Gore.
This was the most balanced pass-run game since Lu Ke took over as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
While the objective reason was that the Detroit Lions' defense was average, ranked twenty-third in the league last season, it was undeniable that Lu Ke's tactical planning and coaching of the offensive line were gradually showing their power. His growth during the offseason was clearly visible.
In the final statistics, the performance of the two highly anticipated quarterbacks, Lu Ke and Stafford, was a world of difference.
Matthew Stafford: 19/33 passes completed for 195 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions, with three sacks. His quarterback rating was 47.1, and his PFF score was -1.6.
This was almost the worst game of Stafford's career. His stats were completely terrible, and there was no hope of winning.
Lu Ke: 24/33 passes completed for 248 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. His quarterback rating was 114.2, and his PFF score was 1.4.
It was clear that Lu Ke had a steady performance throughout the game. He didn't have any spectacular plays or huge ups and downs, but his steady control of the game and tactical planning led the entire offense to a guaranteed victory. From the first minute to the last, the victory of this game was in the 49ers' pocket, not giving the opponent any hope.
In other words, the San Francisco 49ers showed the style of a true powerhouse!
It is remembered that when the 49ers and the Lions first met last year, the two undefeated teams clashed, causing countless heated discussions. In the end, the 49ers took a very difficult victory from the road. At the end of the season, the two teams entered the playoffs together, which caused a storm of young quarterbacks and countless discussions.
Now, the strength of the two teams has shown a clear gap and shift. From their form to the game's flow, from the confrontation to the momentum, a clear gap was shown in all aspects. And all of it was reflected in the final score at the end of the game:
"38-10."
The San Francisco 49ers easily defeated their opponent without much effort, winning a thrilling victory in front of one hundred fifty thousand home fans and starting the new season with two consecutive wins.
But the question is, what happened during the offseason this year?
When two of the same opponents met again, why did they show a completely different result in all aspects?
Was it just because of the change of home and away locations?
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