Ever due to the fact coach Jim Harbaugh gave second-year quarterbackColin Kaepernick the starting up nod above hot-handed Alex Smith, the query has hovered in excess of the 49ers like a cloud.
Did Harbaugh make the appropriate determination?
The strong and elusive Kaepernick made available a resounding solution Saturday evening which has a record-setting overall performance in the 45-31 victory in excess of the Packers in the divisional playoff game at Candlestick Park.
On the evening when Kaepernick became Keepernick, the 49ers quarterback torched the Packers with his arm and his feet, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for two.
He scored on runs of twenty and 56 yards. The 56-yarder was the longest run by a quarterback while in the playoffs, surpassing a 51-yard run from the Titans' Steve McNair in Jan. 2000.
"Guy's taking part in football, guy, he's which makes it transpire," 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree mentioned of Kaepernick. "He's a playmaker."
Kaepernick also shattered Michael Vick's mark of 119 yards rushing -- the earlier postseason rushing record by a quarterback -- using a game-high 181 yards on 16 carries.
"The offense that we now have generates lots of confusion with all the quarterback we've got who can run as quickly as he can," explained tackle Joe Staley, a part of an offense that gained 323 yards around the ground and 579 complete. "He could also throw the ball downfield. We would like to move the chains any way we will, but it really is excellent to move the ball using the ground game."
Kaepernick received off to a bumpy start out ¡§C his 2nd pass was intercepted and run back 52 yards for the touchdown ¡§C but he in no way lost his composure, upstaging Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the NFL's reigning most precious player.
"Anytime your teammates have self-assurance in you plus they really feel very good about what you are carrying out, it can make you're feeling like you are performing the correct elements," Kaepernick mentioned.
The Packers have been outscored 21-0, inside the 2nd half and had two turnovers that led to 49ers touchdowns.
"It's rather aggravating," stated Rodgers, who threw for 257 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. "To go out and perform like that is certainly disappointing. We did not do sufficient on offense to aid our defense."
For your 2nd consecutive season, San Francisco has sophisticated on the NFC championship game exactly where it'll encounter the winner of Sunday's game involving the Seahawks and Falcons.
"They competed like maniacs," Harbaugh mentioned of his gamers, "and now we have received a further week of operate."
It had been a large day for your Harbaugh family members, with Jim's older brother, John, coaching the Ravens to a double-overtime win at Denver.
"That was a actual football battle," Jim mentioned with the Ravens' 38-35 victory. "Had an opportunity to view several of it prior to our game. Really feel good for John and his group."
The Packers saw their season open and near with losses for the 49ers. They dropped their opener to San Francisco 30-22 at Lambeau Field.
Saturday's rematch featured Rodgers, a 49ers fan in Northern California who wore a Joe Montana T-shirt underneath his pads being a kid, and Kaepernick, who was born in Milwaukee and grew up idolizing Brett Favre.
Crabtree caught two touchdown passes for your 49ers, and Frank Gore and Anthony Dixon just about every ran for any score.
Regardless of it currently being his very first postseason start off, Kaepernick was unflappable, even immediately after the pick-six interception to start out the game. He came back within the subsequent possession and orchestrated an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended with his 20-yard keeper for any
touchdown. That came on third-and-8, and -- not like his longer touchdown run -- was not a planned run for him.
"Man-to-man coverage, they doubled Crab, broke down and I saw a operating lane," the quarterback explained using a shrug.
Place merely by Packers receiver Greg Jennings: "We lost to a improved group now."
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