It wasn't just a hard-hitting defense that emphatically broke the 49ers' two-game losing streak Monday night. Colin Kaepernick and the passing game awoke from their slumber, and Kaepernick's three touchdown passes helped secure a 27-6 win over host Washington.

The 49ers (7-4) saw their defense repeatedly rattle and pummel Robert Griffin III, Washington's embattled second-year quarterback. Griffin got sacked four times, including two each from Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks.

The 49ers' defensive heroics didn't stop there. Donte Whitner made a first-half interception, Patrick Willis sparked a fourth-down stop, and Carlos Rogers defended a 50-yard bomb.

Offensively, Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis again emerged as Kaepernick's top targets. Boldin made two touchdown catches before Davis snagged his ninth of the season for a 24-6 lead. Those two receivers have accounted for all 14 of the 49ers touchdown receptions this season.

Kaepernick set a career high with a 134.5 passer rating, completing 15-of-24 passes for 235 yards with the three touchdowns and no interceptions. He eclipsed the 200-yard mark in only two of his previous 10 games, and he combined to throw for 218 yards combined in the past two games (losses).

On his second touchdown pass, he stared long to his left before rolling right and finding Boldin in the end zone. That tandem got the 49ers into Washington territory, by way of Boldin's 32-yard reception to the 25 on third-and-7.

Also on that second touchdown drive, Davis made a 20-yard catch at the 6, helping him rebound from an earlier lost fumble and a drop of a 20-yard pass.