Chapter 1467: Chapter 1466: Six-Second Decision
Ah!
Garoppolo watched helplessly as the football landed in Kittel’s arms, raising both hands high, silently cheering—
Red Zone.
Though not the end zone, it was still the Red Zone!
The opportunity was here for the San Francisco 49ers. They finally had the chance to overturn the score and take the lead into the locker room!
Li Wei, did you see? He can pass, not only can pass but also lead the team to turn the tide at crucial moments!
Joy exploded in the chest instantly, so overwhelming and violent that he forgot to make a sound, just opened his mouth wide, silently cheering.
However, it lasted less than a second. Before Garoppolo could even turn around to look for Li Wei in the crowd, what played out in front of him was like his heart being pulled from high up to a free fall—
Penalty?
How could it be! Where did the yellow flag come from?
Black whistling!
Garoppolo’s heart smashed into the ground, shattered into 3,650 pieces, with only one thought in his mind, struggling yet unable to make a sound.
From ecstatic to speechless, they were robbed! This was blatant black whistling!
Garoppolo rushed towards the referee and Kittel without a care, trying to find out what happened. Was their advantage so bluntly robbed?
The scene was extremely chaotic, with chirping and bustling sounds filling the air. San Francisco 49ers players surrounded the referee layer by layer, and Kittel protested with an expression of June snow, angry and desperate; but the Kansas City Chiefs players didn’t care, all gathered around Fuller, cheering him on.
Meanwhile, Li Wei, with the ball boys and assistants, entered the field, personally delivering water to the defensive group players. Li Wei noticed the intensity of the confrontation continued to rise, the defensive group players were heavily drained, Fuller, after completing the defense, didn’t even have the energy to celebrate, they needed to refuel.
"Let’s have a slow-motion replay, offensive pass interference, quite unusual."
"Here, right here."
"Kittel got blocked, Fuller’s blocking was neat and beautiful, despite the enormous pressure, Fuller completed an excellent task."
"Kittel... grabbing, pushing, a foul, it was a hidden offensive pass interference, but the yellow flag was correct, no mistake."
"Wait. Elbowing? Kittel even had an obscure elbow movement, first elbowing, then grabbing, then pushing, even though very discreet, using his body to shield the view, but the referee’s observation was very accurate and meticulous, making the correct ruling immediately, an undisputed yellow flag."
"Offensive pass interference."
"San Francisco 49ers violation."
In football games, people are very familiar with "defensive pass interference," meaning the defender interferes with the receiver to prevent a fair catch before the receiver controls the football. Strictly speaking, from the center snap, this enters the foul penalty zone.
The original intention of this foul was to prevent defensive players from interfering with the offensive players’ route running coordination, having physical contact while in a non-possession state.
In the passing offense era, the rules are particularly harsh on defensive players, so much so that "pass interference" scenarios are seen time and again.
However, people are slightly unfamiliar with the fact that "pass interference" is divided into "offensive interference" and "defensive interference."
The rules are very simple, in principle, wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs are legal receivers, likewise, cornerbacks, safeties, and linemen are also legal "receiving" players because they can intercept; so, when an offensive player deliberately interferes or even attacks a defensive player to create receiving opportunities for themselves, it becomes "offensive pass interference."
In recent years, the league has focused on passing offenses, and "defensive pass interference" has been common. However, this time Kittel was called for offensive pass interference.
No wonder the San Francisco 49ers offensive group exploded—
They were robbed.
Yet, through slow-motion replays shown live, thoroughly examined from all angles, this foul was without controversy.
To this, the refereeing team agreed.
Kittel protested innocently, flushed and impassioned, sometimes aggrieved and sometimes angry, comparable to an Oscar-winning performance making Garoppolo and others unwaveringly believe this was a black whistle, with their hard-fought offensive push into the Red Zone ruined by the referee’s black whistle.
The refereeing team, perceptively undisturbed.
Four referees gathered together, confirmed from different angles, all giving a consistent answer: foul, confirmed.
The head referee announced the penalty through the microphone.
"Offensive pass interference... San Francisco 49ers, number eighty-five... the pass is invalid, penalty ten yards."
Case closed, putting an end to this chaos and controversy.
The live camera immediately zoomed in on Shanahan.
"Kyle Shanahan did not protest or negotiate, it seems he accepted the referee’s decision."
"This means the San Francisco 49ers will retreat back to the thirty-five-yard line of their own half, facing a third gear and twenty yards situation."
"Now, six seconds remain in the first half, Shanahan still holds three timeouts, despite difficulties, but I believe the San Francisco 49ers still have a chance; maybe the biggest question is, should Garoppolo attempt a Wanfu Mary? Can Garoppolo complete a Wanfu Mary?"
One sentence dropped a bomb in the studio, a bustling discussion erupted around Garoppolo and Wanfu Mary, saliva flying, blood boiling.
However, Erin Andrews first noticed the anomaly—
As a woman, capturing details amid chaos and turmoil, her sharpness was at play.
"Kyle Shanahan... what is he doing?"
"To be precise, Shanahan seems not to be doing anything, he is flipping through the playbook but has not used a timeout."
Instantly, the entire studio paused discussions, fell silent, staring wide-eyed at Shanahan on the field—
According to the game rules, if the head coach prepares to use a timeout but the refereeing team doesn’t stop the game immediately, the refereeing team can judge and reset the time based on circumstances.
For instance, when Kittel went down, six seconds were left. So, even if only two seconds remain now, as long as Shanahan actively contacts the referee, the referee can revert the game clock back to six seconds left.
However, Shanahan made no move, passively letting the time slip away.
The studio was dumbstruck.
Even the Kansas City Chiefs were dumbfounded.
Li Wei looked at Shanahan in shock, according to his thoughts, six seconds was still six seconds, whatever it may be, it still required allowing the quarterback to take a gamble, at this time running the ball was meaningless, it was a desperate pass, to see if the offensive group could advance into field goal range, to seize the advantage before halftime, returning to the locker room with a lead.
Precisely this, Li Wei and the others entered the field first to replenish the defense with water and energy, six seconds, many things could still happen.
Result... just this?
Three. Two. One.
Beep!
In a state of shock and dumbfoundedness, time slipped by in an instant, in just a few seconds, without even having a chance to grasp it, the countdown had completely reached zero.
Then, the head referee blew the whistle to mark the end of the first half, officially announcing the fifty-fourth Super Bowl had entered halftime.