CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In his second season as a starter, Colin Kaepernick improved to 3-0 in road playoff games, but it will take a successful journey to the most hostile environment in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers to repeat as NFC champions.
The 49ers toppled the Carolina Panthers 23-10 on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, taking over the game on two Kaepernick touchdowns, one a throw and one a run, sandwiched around halftime. San Francisco advances to the NFC Championship Game on Sunday in Seattle, where the49ers have been blown out the last two seasons. It is the third consecutive year the 49ers have reached the conference title game.
Kaepernick mimicked Panthers quarterback Cam Newton’s Superman move after a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
“Just a little shout-out,” Kaepernick said afterward.
He will need to be close to a superhero for the 49ers to reach Super Bowl XLVIII. They will have to win road playoff games in three time zones, and the next test is by far the most difficult as the Seahawks are 16-1 at CenturyLink Field over the past two seasons, including the postseason.
“I don’t think it really matters where,” 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith said. “This is a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Media will love it and break it down, dissect it. But we really don’t care. It wouldn’t matter if it was there or at our place. Shoot, we’ve got two more games to go to have a ring.”
49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh, who is 41-13-1 in his three seasons, including the postseason, wasn’t fazed by the task ahead.
“Mr. Al Davis said so profoundly, ‘Just win, baby,’ ” Harbaugh said. “Onward.”
The 49ers, the fifth seed, withstood the cold and the Packers in Green Bay a week ago and took advantage of a slew of first-half calls that went their way in defeating the NFC South champion Panthers in Charlotte.
The Seahawks trounced the 49ers 29-3 on Sept. 15 and won their home meeting the year before 42-13 on Dec. 23, 2012.
But the 49ers have proved capable of defeating the Seahawks in San Francisco, winning 19-17 on Dec. 8. Also, their defense is much healthier than it was a year ago when they reached the Super Bowl.
Kaepernick wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t make any big mistakes. He completed 15 of 28 passes for 196 yards. The 49ers took the lead 13-10 with five seconds remaining in the second quarter on a 1-yard pass to tight end Vernon Davis. It wasn’t ruled complete until a booth review that was initiated after Harbaugh was penalized for being far out on the field complaining to officials. Replays showed Davis dragging his feet in the corner of the end zone.
It started a string of 17 consecutive points as the 49ers scored on their first possession of the third quarter when Kaepernick found Anquan Boldin (eight receptions, 136 yards) for a 45-yard gain and then scored on the keeper around left end.
“It was a big momentum swing,” Kaepernick said. “Coming out for the second half, we were confident.”
Newton was sharp in the first half, firing a 31-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass to Steve Smith, but he could not stay on a roll and the Panthers left points on the field when they failed to punch the ball in at the goal line.
Panthers Coach Ron Rivera rolled the dice on fourth-and-goal and lost with his team trailing 6-0 after the defense had forced two field goals by Phil Dawson.
Newton was stuffed on a sneak from the 1 on an aggressive call by Rivera, who was dubbed “Riverboat Ron” for his propensity to go for it on fourth down in the second half of the season. Even though Newton was turned back, the call didn’t hurt the Panthers, who forced the 49ers to punt after three plays. Newton’s touchdown pass to Smith came on the next play.
The Panthers then had an 8-minute, 59-second drive end with a 24-yard field goal by Graham Gano after they failed on two more snaps from the 1. The field goal gave the Panthers a 10-6 lead, but the 49ers drove the length of the field to go back ahead on Davis’ score.
Newton (16-for-25, 267 yards, 54 rushing yards) was intercepted by Donte Whitner with 4:22 remaining and Patrick Willis picked him off in the first quarter.
“It’s hard as a person, hard as a man when you put so much into it and you don’t get the production you want out of it,” said Newton, who was drafted first overall by Carolina in the 2011 NFL Draft from Auburn. “This is a terrible ending to a great season.”
Rivera’s job was on the line early in the season after a 1-3 start before the team rallied to win the division and a first-round bye, beating New Orleans and Atlanta in the final two weeks of the regular season.
His future has been secured, but San Francisco moves on.
“We became a football team this year,” Rivera said. “This game was not indicative of what this season was about.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 01/13/2014