In Week 5 of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The two teams were both temporarily at the top of their respective divisions, so it was expected to be a tough matchup. However, the game turned out to be completely one-sided. With a score of 49-3, it was a no-brainer victory, and the San Francisco 49ers once again solidified their leading position in the NFC West.

In this game, the 49ers' rookie quarterback, Lu Ke, was undoubtedly the biggest highlight!

It's true that as a rookie player, Lu Ke still has a long way to go in his career. Just like Tony Romo, and just like Josh Freeman today, he needs to prove himself again and again in every game and every season. After a crushing defeat, he could very well face a barrage of criticism.

But what's undeniable is that Lu Ke's performance in the past five games has been remarkable.

Especially in today's game.

The game's progress was far from being as easy as the score suggested. Any true professional could tell that the first half was the focal point of the competition. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually had a chance. Even though their offense was struggling, their defense was still going head-to-head with the San Francisco 49ers.

But the 49ers' offense, under the leadership of Lu Ke, truly showed the demeanor of a powerhouse. They accurately and sharply defeated their opponent, ultimately securing a big victory.

In the future, Lu Ke will still have to face challenges, but for now, Lu Ke is about to be showered with praise.

"Inside the League" was the source of this storm, and it was filled with praise, praise, and more praise. For the first time, Lu Ke won unanimous approval. This is competitive sports, and absolute strength is what holds the most sway, no questions asked.

In fact, this game was crucial for both the San Francisco 49ers and for Lu Ke.

After the heartbreaking loss in the previous week's game, the coaching staff, led by Jim Harbaugh, chose to continue to trust Lu Ke, letting this undrafted rookie be the starter. Every one of them was taking on risk and pressure. In the end, Lu Ke repaid the coaching staff with a magnificent performance.

He completed 32 of 43 passes for 414 yards, five touchdowns, zero interceptions, and zero sacks. His quarterback rating was 142.9, and his PFF score was 1.8.

This was Lu Ke's first time in his career to achieve over four hundred passing yards in a single game. At the same time, this was a new career high for his quarterback rating since the first week of the regular season. In just five weeks of the regular season, he had already achieved his second single-game performance of over 140 points. He was on par with Aaron Rodgers, and even the outstanding Drew Brees was slightly behind.

In fact, in the past five weeks, Brees had also been in a hot streak. He currently had a 4-1 record in the regular season, with his only loss being to a better Green Bay Packers team in the first game.

On the individual stats leaderboard, Brees was leading both passing yards and completion percentage, not only in the NFC but also in the entire league. Besides that, he was only behind Lu Ke and Rodgers in passing touchdowns, temporarily in third place in the NFC.

League commentators and analysts said that this was Aaron Rodgers' best season of his career and Drew Brees' second-best season of his career. And among these two elite quarterbacks, Lu Ke had emerged, carving out a path for himself. He was currently third in both passing yards and completion percentage, only behind Brees and Rodgers. He was also leading the entire league in passing touchdowns.

Amazing, and still amazing. Currently, in quarterback ratings, with an average score over five games, Lu Ke had already surpassed Rodgers, temporarily leading the entire league and ranking first.

This performance easily ignited all the discussions. Even the most picky and harsh commentators and analysts couldn't find any flaws!

If they really had to nitpick, it would be Lu Ke's experience. He had only played five full games in his entire career, and no one could predict if he would suddenly fall apart at some point in the future. But aside from that, his performance in the five games so far was truly flawless.

A 4-1 record in five games. This was only the result on paper. As the commentators on "Inside the League" said, in the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, what was even more valuable than the victory was the San Francisco 49ers' display of dominance and their ability to take control in a tough matchup.

Was Lu Ke perfect? Of course not. He still had a long way to go before he could become a perfect quarterback. But for the San Francisco 49ers, Lu Ke was the perfect starting quarterback.

So, in today's episode of "Inside the League," for the first time ever, all the commentators offered praise.

Even Matt Lawrence, who had always been critical, admitted this week, "Lu Ke has shown the potential of an excellent quarterback. Although some of his passing choices are still debatable, his temperament in the game is truly impressive. This quarterback is never afraid of confrontation or competition. His big heart in crucial moments has undoubtedly influenced the direction of the game."

In the past few weeks, Matt had always been a staunch opponent, but today, he sincerely offered praise. "Under the immense pressure of the home crowd, he showed an outstanding competitive state. Personally, although his quarterback rating was better in the first week, I prefer the strategy and planning in this game. You can clearly see his growth."

This statement was recognized by the other commentators on the show. Everyone began to point out the highlights of the game and re-examine Lu Ke's performance and this victory in detail.

Well, maybe not everyone. There was only one exception on the show: Charles Davis.

Amidst the lively discussions, Charles was unusually quiet today, even silent. He was like an invisible man who didn't attend the show's recording. He didn't say a word from beginning to end, just sitting quietly and listening. But the words of praise were so jarring that they made him feel uneasy.

He knew, he knew it all.

From an objective standpoint, Lu Ke's performance in this game was indeed excellent. Not only in terms of stats but also the progress of the game. From the very first second of the game, the San Francisco 49ers had the upper hand and completely suppressed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, not giving the opponent any chance, and they marched on to victory in one go. A big victory was a natural outcome.

But, he just didn't like Lu Ke.

He didn't like that this quarterback defeated the Dallas Cowboys in a comeback. He didn't like that this quarterback became a media darling. He didn't like that this quarterback seemed to be as arrogant as a second Kurt Warner. He didn't like this quarterback's style of play. He didn't like this quarterback's demeanor during interviews. He didn't even like the process of this quarterback's sudden rise to fame.

And he didn't like this quarterback's "uniqueness," which made him an outlier on the field.

To be precise, he hated Lu Ke and everything related to him.

Although, as a commentator, he needed to remain objective and authoritative and not lie, before being a commentator, he was a regular fan and viewer. He had the right to like a player and the right to dislike a player. He would never like Lu Ke. He didn't before, he doesn't now, and he never will.

He was biding his time, waiting for the day this rookie player would stumble. At that time, whether he was a diamond or a piece of sand, all the answers would be revealed.

He looked up, and every person in his line of sight was passionately expressing praise and support. For Charles, this was a form of torture, even more terrifying than death by a thousand cuts. He wanted so badly to shout out, "He's just a rookie player! Don't talk like he just won the Super Bowl! Damn it!"

"Charles, you're being unusually quiet today. What do you think about this game?"

Without any warning, a voice boomed out like a clap of thunder. In an instant, the entire studio fell silent. All eyes were on Charles. Those curious, expectant, playful, and judging gazes were like arrows, all shooting at Charles at once.

In an instant, Charles became a hedgehog.

Never before had Charles felt so lonely and helpless, as if the whole world was against him. This feeling gnawed at his heart. "Just like... just like Lu Ke," this thought just popped into his head, and Charles immediately snuffed it out. He knew this was a conspiracy, a little trick from Spencer Larson.

The one who spoke was none other than Spencer.

Ever since the big home victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, Spencer had become a staunch supporter of Lu Ke. Now, that support had finally paid off. He was the one who was isolated and helpless on the show before, but now the positions were reversed.

Charles straightened his back and said calmly, "It was a victory. That's all."

"What do you mean, 'that's all'? What about Lu Ke? What do you think of his performance?" Spencer pressed aggressively.

Charles's eyes widened, and a fire began to burn in the depths of his pupils. "He's a rookie. He's only played five games so far. Don't talk about the distant future. Even for this season, he still has eleven more games to play. He's won a few games, and you're already so eager to praise him? What happens if he loses all eleven of the next games?"

"I know, we all know." In stark contrast to Charles's excitement, Spencer remained calm and collected, and the difference between them was obvious. "We will all continue to observe and wait for the future. We all know that. But the question now is, what about this game? Just this one game against the Buccaneers? How was Lu Ke's performance?"

With that one sentence, Charles was completely choked up, dumbfounded, and at a loss for words.

🗒️NOTE:

New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz

Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.