The final whistle echoed around the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome stadium for a long time, and the fans cheered and sang the victory, thundering as if it weren't a regular season game but a Super Bowl — the first time in three years that the New Orleans Saints had beaten Luke's San Francisco 49ers.

In a trance, the memory returned to ten months ago, those cheers, those shouts, and those joys, like a fireworks show, were in full bloom, and being in it was like a dream; However, it was not the San Francisco 49ers who celebrated the victory tonight, but the opponents, who had to turn around alone and swallow the bitterness and sadness of the loss.

Lu Ke didn't move his steps immediately, but stood in place and was slightly stunned for a moment, subconsciously massaging his right hand and arm, and all kinds of thoughts in his mind were surging disturbingly; After working hard for a while, the convulsive curling sensation was relieved but could not be eliminated, and he gave up, and let out a long, long breath of turbidity, all the sighs and bitterness, all the regrets and unwillingness were vented, and then he repacked his emotions and took a step.

Lu Ke trotted all the way to the side of the New Orleans Saints team, showed a shallow smile to the oncoming Drew Briss, and took the initiative to send a warm hug.

"Well done." Lu Ke slapped Bliss on the back heavily, as if he was retaliating childishly, and the slapping sounded.

Bliss couldn't help but smile helplessly, "Hey, hey! Man, lighten up! If I'm too enthusiastic, I can't bear it. After a pause, Bliss continued, "How's it going?" How does it feel to finally taste defeat? "It's not a provocation but a ridicule, there is a kind of narrow-mindedness and cunning of the elders playing tricks on the younger generations.

Lu Ke let go of his embrace, rolled his eyes at Bliss, and responded positively with his facial expression.

This made Bliss laugh heartily, and gently patted Lu Ke's shoulder twice, "After fighting so many times, it's time for me to win once, right?" At every press conference, reporters are constantly asking, 'Hey, Drew, how long is your deer phobia going on?' and 'When do you think your first win against Bambi will come?' ”

The complaining relaxed tone made the corners of Lu Ke's mouth relax a little, and he raised it slightly, "You deserve this victory." ”

It's not charity or charity, this victory was won by Bliss with his own performance, and Lu Ke must pay his respect.

Lu Ke extended his starting winning streak of 25 games across the season, and finally ended in the hands of Drew Bliss, which may be the best result.

In the face of Lu Ke's praise, Bliss gently bowed his head and accepted the praise calmly, and then said meaningfully, "The season is not over yet, recharge your energy and hit the playoffs." If there is a chance to play again this season, I will definitely give 200 per cent of my energy to try to win, and when the time comes, you have to be careful. ”

After suffering a severe collision in the last game, although Lu Ke did not face a concussion or a more serious injury, he still suffered a slight strain on his arm muscles. However, the injury was not serious and did not cause too many obstacles during training, so the team did not disclose it to the public.

But Brice, who is also a quarterback and a player who is also a league leader in passing accuracy, will not be so easy to fool his eyes. Although Bliss didn't know the specific situation of Lu Ke, he could also guess that Lu Ke should be experiencing minor injuries now.

Lu Ke didn't admit or deny it, but just showed a confident smile, "Believe me, if there is still a chance to play this season, it is impossible for a second time to happen today, and the victory must be mine." ”

"Young people always like to talk big."

"The old man is always forgetful, and when the scar is good, he forgets the pain. I'm still leading the battle record so far. ”

"Damn it!" After only one round, Bliss was defeated, hung his head, and cursed in annoyance—as if he was very unhappy with his debating performance—and then looked up again, "Well, would you like to exchange helmets with me today?" ”

Bliss raised the helmet in his hand, looked at Lu Ke with a smile on his face, and then turned the helmet triumphantly, as if he was showing off his victory.

Bliss, who looks like this, rarely reveals a hint of childishness.

Lu Ke was also speechless for a while, looked at Bliss in front of him helplessly, and complained mercilessly, "You look like this, do your children know?" Then you can see that there was a touch of shyness and embarrassment in Blis's smile, but it made Lu Ke laugh heartily, and did not continue to embarrass Bliss, "Change." Of course change! How can such a monumental game not be exchanged for helmets? ”

Lu Ke and Bliss exchanged helmets and hugged each other again, before turning around to say goodbye to each other.

Raising his head, Lu Ke searched through the crowd for a way back to the locker room, which will now be reserved for the victors to celebrate while they return to the locker room to pack their bags, and after the press conference, they will make their way back to San Francisco.

This was not a difficult task, as the San Francisco 49ers players in white away jerseys were gathered in twos and threes, and they were located in a position that was directly located at the entrance and exit of the stadium.

Adjusting the direction, Lu Ke took a step towards the direction of his teammates.

As they walked, Ted Jean and Joe Stanley came from different directions and joined Lu Ke, neither of them spoke, but they were not far away from Lu Ke, and the atmosphere was a little dull and serious.

Not far in front of the diagonal front, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald sat on the lawn with their knees crossed, and did not get up for a long time, Lu Ke took the initiative to walk over, stretched out his right hand, pulled the two people up respectively, hugged each other, patted them on the back, and then continued in the established direction, Justin and McDonald also followed.

An Kuang Boulding, who was originally lying in the red zone, also stood up again, and joined Jon Baldwin, the two of them silently bowed their heads all the way, raised their heads and noticed Lu Ke's direction of travel, they couldn't help slowing down slightly, waiting for Lu Ke's footsteps to catch up, and then they resumed their normal speed again.

Last year's rookie close-end Garrett-Celek stood like a statue with his head down, standing like a statue — after Logan and Vernon were unavailable for different reasons, Salek came on as a substitute near end, but only received the ball once in four passes and seemed to have yet to recover from the game.

His teammates passed by Salek one after another, but he didn't react until Lu Ke appeared, and he patted Salek's arm.

Salek jerked his head up in surprise, but there was an indescribable blankness on his face.

Lu Ke said in a low voice, "The game is over, let's go back to the locker room." ”

Then Salek followed Lu Ke's footsteps ignorantly and took a step towards the entrance and exit.

The group centered on Lu Ke walked in the same direction like this, and the players scattered in all corners of the stadium did not seem to be able to recover from the game.

When Lu Ke came back to his senses, they were already standing in the players' tunnel.

At this time, Lu Ke realized that no player took the lead in going back to the locker room, and everyone stayed in place, seeming to ...... is waiting for his arrival.

Lu Ke was slightly stunned, how could he forget - for him, this game was the first starting defeat since the final of the Nations League last season; And for the San Francisco 49ers as a whole, the same is true.

After two and a half seasons of running and fighting, they seem to have formed a firm belief: as long as Lu Ke stands on the field, they are invincible, they cannot be defeated, and they are able to turn decay into a magical miracle master. This belief has shaped the temperament of the whole team.

But now, defeat has finally come.

Lu Ke is feeling the impact of the loss, and so is the rest of the team. The significance and weight of this defeat were very different, and even the loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the second week of the regular season this season could not be compared, although this game was not a division rival at all.

Now, everything seems to be different. That kind of loss and dazedness, that kind of confusion and helplessness, made every player subconsciously start looking for Lu Ke's figure. Offensive Group, Defensive Group, Special Service Group; Starters, substitutes, injured players...... Even the team staff, all eyes were waiting for Lu Ke.

It's like at this moment—

The players and staff of the whole team took Lu Ke as the center of the circle and scattered around the players' tunnel, no one stayed on the court, and no one took the lead to go back to the locker room, just silently and quietly followed Lu Ke's footsteps, which seemed to have become a habitual action.

In it, Lu Ke could feel the power of cohesion.

It's not the sight, it's the aura. Some people still keep their eyes down and hide their emotions; Some were looking around the pitch, as if they had awakened some kind of memory; Some closed their eyes, a deep exhaustion between their eyebrows...... Only a few people, such as Logan and Marcus, set their sights on Lu Ke.

Despite this, Lu Ke can still clearly feel that aura, just like the captain of the "Titanic", it doesn't matter if you can see it or not, the weight of all the lives on the entire ship is maintained on the captain, which is an emotion called "trust". It's a burden and a motivation.

Lu Ke straightened his waist slightly, and supported this heavy trust with his shoulders.