| Green
Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) passes against the
San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter of an NFC
divisional playoff NFL football game in San Francisco
on Saturday. |
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SAN FRANCISCO - The
unproven kid thoroughly beat the former Super Bowl champion and
reigning MVP.
With a strong arm
that allowed him to pick the Packers apart from the pocket and
speedy legs that helped him break free for big gains, Colin
Kaepernick did a little bit of everything in a record-setting,
sensational playoff debut - and Aaron Rodgers just couldn't keep up.
Kaepernick passed
for 263 yards and ran the San Francisco 49ers right back to the NFC
championship game with a 45-31 win over Green Bay in an NFC
divisional game Saturday night.
Kaepernick rushed
for a quarterback playoff record 181 yards and two touchdowns and
threw two scoring passes to Michael Crabtree. Next up for the Niners:
a game on Jan. 20 for a spot in the Super Bowl, against the winner
of Sunday's game between the Seattle Seahawks and Falcons at
Atlanta.
"It feels
good. We're one step closer to where we want to be," Kaepernick
said. "I feel like I had a lot to prove. A lot of people
doubted my ability to lead this team."
And what a playoff
debut it was by the second-year pro making just his eighth NFL
start. No doubting Jim Harbaugh's big midseason gamble switching
quarterbacks now.
Rodgers never got
in sync for the Packers (12-6), finishing 26 of 39 for 257 yards
with two touchdowns.
Kaepernick ran for
scores of 20 and 56 yards on the way to topping the rushing mark of
119 yards set by Michael Vick in 2005 against St. Louis. Crabtree
caught TD passes of 12 and 20 yards in the second quarter and wound
up with nine receptions and 119 yards for the Niners (12-4-1) in the
NFC divisional matchup.
Kaepernick,
sporting a burgundy beanie partially covering his head, was greeted
at his locker after the game by former 49ers quarterback John Brodie.
San Francisco had
579 total yards with 323 on the ground, scoring its third-most
points in the franchise's storied playoff history.
"Our offensive
line did an amazing job today," Kaepernick said. "They
shut everybody down inside. Our receivers, our tight ends, blocked
great outside, and our running backs were running hard, so it made
it easier on me."
Frank Gore and
Anthony Dixon each added 2-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter
for the No. 2 seed NFC West champions, slim favorites on their home
field in a rematch of Week 1. They added to their memorable night by
setting a franchise postseason record for yards rushing, 119 of
those by Gore to complement Kaepernick.
Rodgers, the former
Cal star passed up by San Francisco with the No. 1 pick in the 2005
draft, never got going. Rodgers rooted for the Niners as a kid in
Northern California.
This was another
early exit for the Packers, who lost in the divisional playoffs to
the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants a year ago and were
denied a chance to defend the title they won after the 2010 season.
Those Green Bay
road stars of two years ago — they won three away from Lambeau
Field on the way to the Super Bowl — didn't have it this time
against San Francisco's stingy defense and a no-fear, second-year
quarterback who would not be denied. A kid who was born in Milwaukee
and grew up a big Green Bay fan until the day he was drafted in 2011
out of Nevada.
"I didn't know
how fast he was," Green Bay defensive back Charles Woodson
said. "Coming in I really never paid attention to it. But he is
fast."
San Francisco
advanced to back-to-back NFC title games for the first time since
reaching three in a row following the 1992-94 seasons, with 1994
their last trip to the Super Bowl.
With the sellout
crowd at Candlestick Park waving red flags reading "Quest for
Six" — a sixth Super Bowl title, that is — Kaepernick did
his part and then some to deliver in the first key step. Even after
an early interception that gave Green Bay all the momentum in a
hostile road stadium.
Kaepernick topped
Vick's mark with the 56-yard keeper on an option play in the third
quarter. That gave Kaepernick 163 yards on 12 carries, also setting
a 49ers franchise record for the postseason.
"The execution
for the 49ers on the read option was excellent, but our issues were
bigger than that," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "We
did not a very good job of keeping him the pocket. He was able to
get out of the pocket for a number of big conversions."
Kaepernick joined
Jay Cutler in 2011 and Otto Graham in both 1954 and '55 as the only
players with two rushing and two passing touchdowns in a playoff
game.
David Akers kicked
a 36-yard field goal moments before halftime to give San Francisco a
24-21 lead at intermission after Green Bay tried to ice the
struggling veteran by calling timeout before his kick.
Mason Crosby's
31-yard field goal tied the game at 24 midway through the third
quarter, then Kaepernick took over again. San Francisco's defense
handled the rest.
Kaepernick had 11
carries for 107 yards rushing by halftime.
Pick six, no
problem.
The strong-armed
Kaepernick brushed off the interception he tossed on the fourth play
of the game that Sam Shields ran back 52 yards for a touchdown, then
took control with his pinpoint passing to his favorite go-to guy —
Crabtree — and with his quick-burst ability out of the pocket.
"He does a
great job of responding," Harbaugh said. "He has done that
any time there has been an interception he has thrown, a safety or a
turnover, he's responded with a scoring drive. That's rare. I think
that's a rare quality. So far he's shown that he's got that ability
to come back."
San Francisco,
fueled all year by its near miss in overtime of the NFC title game,
made it two victories against Rodgers and Co. this season after a
30-22 Week 1 win at Lambeau Field.
Kaepernick bounced
back from the early interception and again after a second-quarter
taunting penalty in which he threw the ball down in the face of
safety M.D. Jennings after being hit by Jennings and Erik Walden.
Center Jonathan Goodwin grabbed Kaepernick in an effort to settle
him down after his 15-yard run was negated by the 15-yard flag.
Two plays later,
Kaepernick found Crabtree for his 20-yard TD as San Francisco
capitalized on another Packers turnover.
Rodgers answered
right back on the Packers' next chance, driving his team 80 yards on
six plays and hitting James Jones on a 20-yard touchdown of his own
that tied the game at 21. Green Bay got help from a 15-yard personal
foul penalty by Dashon Goldson for a helmet-to-helmet hit on DuJuan
Harris.
"We felt like
we gift-wrapped them 14 points off turnovers in the first half and
our defense was playing all right," Rodgers said. "And
then we just didn't get it done in the second half. I knew we were
going to have to score some points. We knew we were going to have to
put up at least 38 points."
Former California
receiver Jeremy Ross fumbled Andy Lee's punt early in the second and
C.J. Spillman recovered as San Francisco got the ball back at the 9.
Kaepernick threw a 12-yard TD pass to Crabtree three plays later.
Rodgers' streak of
183 passes without an interception spanning the previous five games
ended when Tarell Brown picked off the ball on a deep third-down
throw in the second quarter.
"We expected
them to try to get him out on the perimeter. But we didn't expect to
let him do what he did," Woodson said. "Give him a lot of
credit. He played a great game. He made a lot of great plays out
there today. It was hard to swallow."
Harris ran 18 yards
for a score in the final minute of the first quarter as Green Bay
took a 14-7 lead. Rodgers connected with James Jones on a 44-yard
completion one play earlier before Harris easily ran right up the
middle into the end zone for a Packers team that managed 45 total
yards rushing in the season-opening loss.
Such moments were
few against a 49ers defense happy to welcome back All-Pro lineman
Justin Smith after he missed the final two regular-season games with
a partially torn left triceps muscle.
Notes: The Green
Bay defense gave up the most total yards (579), yards rushing (323)
and second-most points in the playoffs in franchise history. ... San
Francisco improved to 13-3 at home in divisional playoff games. ...
The 49ers had 48 offensive plays in the first half to 20 by Green
Bay.
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