The story between the Washington Redskins and Lu Ke was a little complicated.
In fact, at the beginning of the regular season, reporters had already stirred up a lot of excitement. However, before that, the Redskins had a good record, with three wins and one loss in their first four games, neck-and-neck with the San Francisco 49ers. This included a victory over their division rival, the New York Giants, in the season opener. The entire team was confident.
So, head coach Mike Shanahan remained calm and composed, simply saying with praise, "He's been playing pretty well." But then he changed his tune and gave more credit to his quarterback, Rex Grossman, a nine-year veteran who had finally found his rhythm and was going through the prime of his career.
If the matchup between Lu Ke and the Washington Redskins had happened in the fifth week of the regular season, with two teams that had a 3-1 record facing off, the media would have surely hyped it up as a game for Lu Ke to prove himself, with him expected to beat the Redskins to prove that the Redskins' front office had made a mistake in the draft.
But that was just a topic, a run-of-the-mill story that wouldn't cause much of a stir.
Now, it wasn't the fifth week of the regular season, but the ninth. And the world had completely changed.
In the fifth week of the regular season, the Washington Redskins had their bye week. When they returned, the entire team was cold and disorganized, suffering a terrible three-game losing streak against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Carolina Panthers, and the Buffalo Bills.
The most humiliating loss was to the Panthers, giving the opponent their second victory of the season. In that game, quarterback Rex Grossman was cold and played terribly, completely losing to this year's number one pick, Cam Newton. After the game, he was heavily criticized by the home media.
From a 3-1 record to three straight losses, with the bye week as the turning point, the Washington Redskins' form declined at a cliff-like pace. Grossman's performance was a nightmare. Last week, in a road game against the Buffalo Bills, they were shut out, losing by a terrible score of 0-23.
It was even worse than the Cleveland Browns' performance.
The matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins was about to happen against this backdrop. This was undoubtedly several steps more dramatic and interesting than the fifth week of the regular season. It was as if destiny had brought these two teams together again. How could reporters not be excited?
After the win against the Cleveland Browns, the first thing reporters did in the post-game interview was to ask Lu Ke about this.
However, Lu Ke showed great composure and wisdom, saying, "No, I don't think this is a revenge game."
Lu Ke then added, "So far this season, I've played well, but everyone should see that our offense has come together. Also, the coaching staff's plays are more suitable for me. It's because of the San Francisco 49ers that I'm able to stand here and give this interview. If I were on a different team, the situation might be different."
Lu Ke ended by saying politely, "I believe that the Washington Redskins had their reasons for not choosing me. And it's my destiny to play for San Francisco at Candlestick Park. So, I think everything is good right now. Of course, we will do our best to win."
A little fox.
Faced with Lu Ke's airtight answer, the reporters immediately knew that they would leave empty-handed. Lu Ke was not going to give them what they wanted, and their plan to create a big story was already half-failed. But thankfully, there was still the hot-headed, outspoken Mike Shanahan. They couldn't mess up this half.
It turned out that the other half wouldn't fail either.
"No, I have no regrets. What is there to regret?"
Facing the reporters' aggressive questions, the hot-headed, stubborn, and outspoken Shanahan, who had just suffered a terrible loss, answered in an annoyed tone. He waved his hand as if he were shooing away a fly.
"He's just a rookie quarterback. He played a few good games in the first half of the season, and now everyone is going crazy over him. What genius, what savior, what elite quarterback. They're just slapping these titles on him. When will it end? Has the world changed? He's not Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning. Let's talk about this again after he's played a full season."
The contempt and disdain in his words were barely hidden, fueled by the media. He fired at Lu Ke without thinking, saying sensational things directly.
Clearly, Shanahan was in a terrible mood and was in no mood to deal with reporters.
But the reporters wouldn't let go of such a great opportunity. "Isn't that the point of the draft? To pick a rookie player with potential to be a future asset for the team. Now it seems that Lu Ke's potential has been proven, and he has an unlimited future. The Washington Redskins were so close to getting this rookie but unfortunately missed him. What are your thoughts on that?"
"I just said, let's talk about this after the season is over. There's still a lot of time," Shanahan said without any hesitation, firing back at them. His impatient tone was like hitting a wall. Although the words were simple, the subtext was profound.
The reporters on the scene immediately caught the meaning and became excited. "Coach, are you saying that you don't have a good outlook on Lu Ke's future?"
"I'm not his father or his coach. I'm not interested in his future," Shanahan said bluntly, cutting off the question and not falling into the trap.
But it was too late. The reporters still pursued him, asking for his thoughts on next week's game. Shanahan bluntly said, "We're going to win." Without any further explanation, Shanahan pushed past the reporters and quickly left.
Even so, the reporters had achieved the effect they wanted. They had gathered all the attention, and the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins was given the name "Revenge Game."
According to the media, both Lu Ke and Shanahan were desperate for this victory.
For Lu Ke, he needed a victory to prove his skills and to prove that the Washington Redskins' decision was wrong. For Shanahan, he also needed a victory, not only to prove that he hadn't made a mistake and that the team didn't need Lu Ke, but also to stop the three-game losing streak. Otherwise, forget the playoffs; this season would be a bust.
On top of that, this game was also special for Rex Grossman. He needed to prove himself, and more importantly, he needed to prove himself in front of the fans. Otherwise, the fans might direct their anger at Grossman, thinking that the team had made a completely wrong decision by missing out on Lu Ke and choosing Grossman.
Even if it wasn't for Lu Ke, Grossman had no way out in this week's game and had to step up.
So, in the ninth week of the regular season, a simple regular season game between two teams with no history or rivalry became a huge talking point thanks to the media's hype.
Amidst all the excitement, the Washington Redskins' fans were divided into three camps.
One camp chose to continue supporting Shanahan, believing that Grossman still had the skills and they could bounce back. There was no need to dwell on the past. Another camp chose to complain about Shanahan, believing that the team could have drafted Lu Ke. Regardless of Grossman's performance, the veteran was already thirty-one years old, and they should start thinking about the future.
And there was another camp that remained rational. Regardless of whether they had regrets or not, missing out on Lu Ke was a done deal. Instead of arguing about a meaningless topic, they should unite to cheer on their team, hoping that they could end their three-game losing streak and get back on the winning track.
Amidst all the excitement, a new week of the regular season kicked off at FedExField.
The game's progression was a bit surprising, or maybe it was expected. But no matter which way you put it, it was good news for the Washington Redskins' fans.
Because Lu Ke had thrown an interception.
"An unexpected turn of events, truly unexpected! On the San Francisco 49ers' first drive of the game, they advanced to their own thirty-seven-yard line, and Lu Ke threw an interception. This is his second interception of the entire season. Clearly, this revenge game is affecting Lu Ke one way or another. The fluctuation in his mindset has affected his pass control. Let's watch the replay."
"The Washington Redskins started the game on offense and went three-and-out. Then the San Francisco 49ers' offense came onto the field. Lu Ke threw an eleven-yard pass, successfully connecting with Michael Crabtree. He then advanced another six yards to the thirty-seven-yard line, but on the next pass, Lu Ke made a mistake."
"The San Francisco 49ers' offensive line pocket was hit a little, but not too hard. Lu Ke had a relatively stable space to throw. He was trying to find Kyle Williams in the crowd, but the eight-yard pass was half a step to the right. Williams only managed to touch the football, changing the pass's trajectory, but he couldn't make the catch."
"In the end, cornerback Josh Wilson, who was waiting three yards away, stood still. Without any effort, the football fell into his arms, and he completed the interception. If Marcus Lynch hadn't tackled Wilson out of bounds in time, stopping the possibility of a return, the situation would have been even worse."
"Although Lu Ke appeared calm in the pre-game interviews, you can still see that the revenge game is having a certain effect on him."
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