SAN FRANCISCO – Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was virtually perfect, except at the start.



But that worked out perfectly for San Francisco.



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The lone blemish on Kaepernick's overwhelming performance came on the very first series of San Francisco's dominant 45-31 win over Green Bay in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs Saturday night at Candlestick Park. As Kaepernick dropped to pass, he first looked right, only to see wide receiver Michael Crabtree fall after making a cut.

Kaepernick then looked left and forced a pass into double coverage that Green Bay's Sam Shields snagged and returned 52 yards for a 7-0 lead. It's fair to say that many 49ers fan were probably ruing coach Jim Harbaugh's decision to replace Alex Smith with Kaepernick at that moment.

Sitting in his seat, Rick Kaepernick, Colin's father, had a different point of view. In a twisted way, the elder Kaepernick knew his son had Green Bay right where he wanted them:

In the younger Kaepernick's now-angry sights.

"I know how he gets when stuff like that happens," Rick Kaepernick said after the game in the players parking lot. "I know how mad he gets, how focused."

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What the 49ers got from that moment on was one of the better performances from a quarterback in playoff history. From the running of Michael Vick to the precision strikes of Aaron Rodgers (the man Kaepernick outclassed in every way) to the on-the-move touch passes of Joe Montana, Kaepernick was some hybrid of greatness.

When it was over, Kaepernick set an NFL QB playoff record with 181 yards rushing, including untouched touchdown runs of 20 and 56 yards. He also completed 17 of 31 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns to Crabtree. In all, he helped the 49ers pile up 579 yards of total offense, including 323 yards on the ground.

Kaepernick was so thoroughly dominant that even Green Bay players and executives were, in their own way, appreciative. It was almost as if they could do nothing but salute what they had just seen.

"That was unbelievable," Green Bay General Manager Ted Thompson said. "He did everything. I mean, I had read the press clippings and seen some of the highlights. But to watch what he did … oh my, that was special."

"You have to tip your hat sometimes when a guy like that at the quarterback position is consistently out running and flanking your defense and making huge plays," Green Bay defensive tackle B.J. Raji said.

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To put it another way, the 49ers beat Green Bay at the Packers game. Coming into this, the feeling was that if the Packers made this a high-scoring game, San Francisco would be forced out of its defense-oriented game and the young Kaepernick, who was making only his eighth start, would be susceptible to the pressure.

Even the 49ers themselves felt that. After Shields' interception, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis admitted to concern.

"I was watching him," Davis said. "Guys in that situation have a tendency to curl up when something like that happens. He didn't. He kept his head up."

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