Colin Kaepernick reminds Rams he can play by rallying 49ers to victory
In a season where so much has been made of Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel on the sideline during the national anthem, many have forgotten what he’s capable of doing on the field with the football in his hands.
On Saturday he gave a refresher course at the Coliseum, willing his team to a 22-21 victory over the Rams with a leaping two-point conversion run with 31 seconds left.
“I saw an opportunity to get in there and in my head was just: ‘I have to get in. I have to get in for this team. We need this win,’” Kaepernick said.
Kaepernick scrambled right on a designed rollout and surveyed the field.
“It was an opportunity that we had saw on film and we thought we could take advantage of,” Kaepernick said about the play call. “We really thought we’d have the first guy coming out in the flat, but they did a good job of covering that and running with the overs as well.
“But run-pass options are good, too.”
Kaepernick finished 28 for 38 passing for 266 yards with two touchdowns and he had one pass intercepted as the 49ers snapped a franchise-worst losing streak at 13 games.
But it didn’t look as if the game was heading that direction in the first half. Kaepernick — who was beat out in training camp for the starting role by Blaine Gabbert and watched for five games — completed seven of 13 passes for 77 yards, and sailed a pass over tight end Garrett Celek’s head and into the hands of Rams safety Cody Davis.
Kaepnerick did have a 19-yard touchdown throw to running back Carlos Hyde in the first quarter, but that was primarily the product of a blown coverage by the Rams. Hyde caught the ball in space in the middle of the field and easily charged into the end zone.
From there the offense dried up until the fourth quarter.
The 49ers were forced to punt seven consecutive times before Hyde fumbled after being hit by Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines and sidelined with a knee injury.
That’s when Kaepernick said guard Zane Beadles calmed the offensive line, which had given up four sacks.
“Zane rallied the offensive line on the sidelines saying, before those last two drives, ‘Forget everything that’s happened up until this point. Let’s play football the way we know how, let’s go get this win,’” Kaepernick said.
From there the pocket opened up.
On the first of two scoring drives in the fourth quarter, Kaepernick completed six of 11 passes, including converting on fourth and eight with a 10-yard throw to Rod Streater.
The quarterback soon scored on a 13-yard run with 5 minutes 6 seconds left to pull the visitors to within 21-14.
“They gave everything they had,” San Francisco Coach Chip Kelly said of the offensive line. “I think as the game wore on and they kind of got a little bit more settled, they gained a bit of confidence, but I thought that [Kaepernick] did a nice job.”
The 49ers gained some more confidence when the Rams followed with a three and out on their next possession. Thoughts of a two-point conversion already were dancing in Kelly’s head.
“Depending on how much time was left on the clock,” Kelly said.
A 10-play touchdown drive chewed away 2:39 and ultimately helped Kelly make the decision ... though his players could feel it was coming.
“We knew, pretty much, we were going to go for it. We’d been practicing it all week,” Streater said. “They played really good defense, honestly, because I thought it was going to come open on the backside. ‘Kap’ made the read on the throw and made the play.”
Asked if this was his favorite win, Kaepernick said: “Right now, yeah, it feels like the best. It’s definitely something I enjoyed today. I enjoyed being out there with my teammates.”
Twitter: @mattwilhalme
The Rams blew a 14-point lead late in the fourth quarter to fall to the San Francisco 49ers, 22-21, for the second time this season.
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