Foxborough, Mass. -- This is going to be a busy week in San Francisco and in New England.



And Harbaugh will be doing damage control, trying to make sure his mighty men don't get mighty-big heads in the wake of their 41-34, hold-on-for-dear-life upset over the Patriots in a nonstop, freezing drizzle at Gillette Stadium.


Kaepernick, in his fifth start, facing his biggest challenge-outscore the mighty Tom Brady in Chowderland in a prime-time Sunday game - led his team to another win, and into the playoffs.


This was Kaepernick's biggest test, and it got bigger when Brady called Kaepernick's hand and raised him. A disastrous blown opportunity loomed.

If Kaepernick didn't crack here, I don't like the chances of that happening this season.

Kaepernick explained why the pressure doesn't seem to bother him.

"This is my 17th year of football," he explained.



"I saw (Crabtree) one-on-one with the matchup. I liked it," Kaepernick said.

Yes, Kaepernick fumbled the ball four times. It's a good thing he's not a delivery-room doctor. And yes, Alex-ites, Kaepernick's 34-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker in the second quarter was wobbly. And yes, Kaepernick threw an interception, his second in 5 1/2 games.

But Kaepernick and the 49ers' offense chewed up huge chunks of the clock, made big plays and snapped the Patriots' winning streak at seven games.

Kaepernick's passer rating was 1o7.7, beefed up by four TD passes.

Brady's rating was 68.9.





On the very next possession, Kaepernick fumbled a snap, then fumbled another on the 49ers' next possession.


It's time for the world to face the reality that Kaepernick isn't wilting under the pressure of one acid test after another. If anything, he's getting a bit cocky. After his touchdown heave to Walker, Kaepernick Kaepernick'd, kissing his right biceps. Or maybe he was simply doing some scripture reading.

One sign of Kaepernick's poise: For a young, running quarterback, he doesn't run much. He passed up several opportunities to hoof it, although he did have a 19-yard run on a 3rd-and-8 play during the first-half-ending field-goal drive, and a 10-yard run later in that drive.




"It is a little bit crazy, a bit surreal," he said. "I'm just trying to keep my head down and keep it real."

Kaepernick's game is speaking for him, saying, Whattaya got for me now, world?

QB comparison

New England's Tom Brady more than doubled the 49ers' Colin Kaepernick in passes attempted, completed and passing yards, but Kaepernick's team prevailed:

Att Com Yds TD Int
Kaepernick 25 14 216 4 1
Brady 65 36 443 1 2

Note: Kaepernick's passer rating was 107.7. Brady's was 68.9.
