Colin Kaepernick was responsible for 444 yards and four touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers in his first playoff game. Oh, and did I forget to mention he set a NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback?
So, Alex Smith supporters: any questions?
Kaepernick not only won his playoff debut against the vaunted Packers, he dominated and proved once and for all why the switch was made to the unproven second-year quarterback.
"It’s a great accolade and I think it means a lot to this team," Kaepernick said. "Our offensive line did an amazing job, our receivers, running back and tight ends were doing an amazing job. They opened up a lot of things for me."
It makes you almost completely forget that his playoff debut began with a pick-6.
He bounced back after that to get the 49ers back even with the Packers. Every time Aaron Rodgers and the Packers scored, Kaepernick had an answer and then some.
"He does a great job of responding," 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He has done that every time there has been an interception that he's thrown or safety or turnover, he's responded with a scoring drive. I think that's rare."
It should end any sort of debate but what if the 49ers falter in the NFC Championship game like they did last season?
Remember it was this time a year ago that Smith had what many thought was his coming out party when he went throw-for-throw with Drew Brees, another Super Bowl winning quarterback, only to see the wheels come off against the New York Giants the following week.
If that were to happen, some may begin to doubt again and if you do, you have not been watching these quarterbacks very closely.
Kaepernick may be young. Some of his numbers may not be that dissimilar to Smith's. But here is a number that is hard to overlook.
In Smith's first eight starts this season, he had a QBR of 60 or below four times. In Kaepernick's first eight starts (including Saturday), he has been below that line once.
Not only that, he is trending in the right direction. Kaepernick has seen his QBR go up in each of the last two games, the first time all season.
And we are just talking about his throwing ability. This not even to mention that Kaepernick had more rushing yards on Saturday than Smith had all season.
If there are any remaining doubters of Kaepernick, they must be feeling awfully lonely right now because that ship is sinking fast.
Follow Zack Farmer on Twitter: @Zack_Farmer
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