Plenty of people were surprised when 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh decided to change horses in the middle of the season and switch to Colin Kaepernick as his starting quarterback, but there’s less disbelief about his choice right now.
Kaepernick has been named the NFC offensive player of the week after becoming the third quarterback in history to throw four touchdown passes at Gilette Stadium in Sunday night’s 41-34 win against the Patriots. In doing so, he outdueled another member of that club in Tom Brady.
Kaepernick was 14-of-25 for 216 yards overall in the game, which saw the 49ers roar to a 31-3 lead before giving it all back to the Patriots. On the 49ers’ first offensive play after the Patriots tied the game, Kaepernick hit Michael Crabtree with a pass that the receiver was able to turn into a 38-yard touchdown that put the 49ers back in front for good.
There were an impressive list of candidates in the NFC this week, including Tony Romo, Adrian Peterson and Russell Wilson. Kaepernick took home the honor by continuing to make Harbaugh’s move look like one of the smartest of the year.