Colin Kaepernick dominates the Packers once again with 412 passing yards in 49ers win

At least the Green Bay Packers figured out how to stop Colin Kaepernick on the ground.

Kaepernick had his first 300-yard passing game in the books before the end of the third quarter on Sunday and finished with 412 passing yards in San Francisco's 34-28 win, but hey, he didn't torch the Packers on read-option plays the entire game.

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Last year Kaepernick had 181 rushing yards, a NFL record for a quarterback in a game, in a playoff win against Green Bay. The Packers didn't want to let Kaepernick beat them on the ground in this season's opener, but he beat them plenty through the air. Kaepernick passed the 400-yard mark on a completion to Anquan Boldin on fourth and 2 with about three minutes left, a play that all but sealed the win. It was the 49ers' first 400-yard passing game since Oct. 10, 2004, when the immortal Tim Rattay reached that number. On the key fourth down play late in the game, Kaepernick ran around to buy time until Boldin came free, and he hit him for the big completion.

That's the problem for defenses facing the new breed of dual-threat quarterbacks, and it's the reason why they're not a fad. If a defense takes one thing away, quarterbacks like Kaepernick will make something else happen.

Kaepernick also put to rest the concerns about San Francisco's passing game without receiver Michael Crabtree. Anquan Boldin had a huge day with 13 catches for 208 yards, making the Baltimore Ravens (who traded him to San Francisco this offseason) miss him even more. Tight end Vernon Davis, who wasn't often on the same page with Kaepernick during the regular season last year, picked up where he left off in the playoffs. He had six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers tried to keep up. He was great, as usual, with 333 yards and three touchdowns. But Kaepernick was the better quarterback on Sunday. With his skill set, it's hard to see how opponents will slow him down this season. Ask the Packers about that. They had most of the offseason to figure out a plan to slow down Kaepernick and still couldn't come up with the right answer.

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