"It's been amazing. I couldn't ask for anything more," the new age quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers said after his mix of record-breaking running, resilience after early setbacks and big-armed passing gave the 49ers a 45-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.
Coach Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers took a calculated risk at midseason when he benched incumbent quarterback Alex Smith in favor of the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Kaepernick. Smith was having a solid season. He'd taken the 49ers to the NFC title game last season.
BOX SCORE: 49ers 45, Packers 31
But Kaepernick, in just his second pro season, had the big upside. He put it all on display against the Packers as he upstaged Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a Super Bowl MVP and the top-rated career passer in NFL history.
The 49ers now advance to the NFC title game to meet the winner of Sunday's matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons.
Kaepernick ran for 181 yards, a record for an NFL quarterback in a regular or postseason game. He averaged 11.3 yards per rush on 14 carries – scrambles and read option runs. His two touchdowns included a 20-yarder and a 56-yarder that put San Francisco ahead to stay in the third quarter.
He also hit 17-31 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns, both of the scores on connection with wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
"The guy's playing football, man," said Crabtree. "He's making it happen with his feet, with his arm. He's just out there making plays. He's a playmaker."
Kaepernick, of course, gave the credit to his offensive line, receivers and running backs. Frank Gore ran for 119 yards and a touchdown. Crabtree had 119 yards on nine catches. But Kaepernick delivered the wows, and he did it on a night that started out badly for him.
Kaepernick's second pass of the game was intercepted and returned 52 yards for a touchdown by Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields. But as he had demonstrated in seven regular-season starts, Kaepernick quickly moved on. He didn't have much to say to Harbaugh on the sideline.
"He just said he understood (his mistake). That's pretty close to what he said," Harbaugh said.
Kaepernick got his first start while Smith was sidelined with a concussion. When Smith was healthy again after sitting out two games, Harbaugh stuck with Kaepernick. He had the talent, but nobody could foresee how he's respond to something like that early interception.
"I had to bounce back," Kaepernick said.
Crabtree on Kaepernick's demeanor after the interception that quieted the Candlestick Park crowd: "No frustration at all. He was really in our ear telling us we've got to make a play.''
There wasn't much time to chat. The 49ers' offense immediately went back onto the field, where Kaepernick led 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by his 20-yard scramble into the end zone.
With the 49ers trailing 21-14 in the second quarter, Kaepernick nullified his own 15-yard run with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball in the direction of a defender. Bouncing back again, Kaepernick hit Crabtree with a laser-like 20-yard touchdown pass.
At the end of the first half, the long-striding Kaepernick had runs of 19, 18 and nine yards to set up a 36-yard field goal by David Akers that gave the 49ers a 24-21 halftime edge.
The biggest roar came in the third quarter, when Kaepernick ran a read option, tucked the ball under his arm and broke loose off the right side on a 56-yard touchdown run that snapped a 24-24 tie.
"The end came down, my teammates blocked the safety, and there wasn't anybody left," Kaepernick said matter of factly at his post-game press conference while wearing a maroon knit cap.
That run pushed Kaepernick past the previous record for playoff rushing yards by an NFL quarterback: 118 by Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2004 season. Kaepernick went on to break Vick's NFL quarterback record of 173 rushing yards in a regular or postseason game. Vick set that mark in 2002 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Kaepernick's 181 rushing yards also were the most by a 49ers player at any position in a postseason game. He took the praise of teammates in stride.
"Any time you have the confidence of your teammates, it makes you feel good about what you're doing," he said.
Now, the 49ers move on. A couple of turnovers on punt returns led to a defeat in last season's NFC title game against the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. They'll get another shot.
"We'll study for the test and whoever it is, we'll play," Harbaugh said. "And then we'll compete like maniacs. This is that do-or-die, win-or-go-home situation."
Source: http://www.usatoday.com
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