49ers rout Packers to book spot in NFC title game

The 49ers advanced to the National Conference Championship game with a 45-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

San Francisco signal-caller Colin Kaepernick, making his postseason debut, recovered from an early interception to set an NFL rushing record for a quarterback with 181 yards and two scores. He also threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns - both to Michael Crabtree.

The 49ers next play the winner of Sunday's game between NFC top seed Atlanta and Seattle.

Kaepernick, a Wisconsin native who was a fan of the Packers as a youngster, outplayed reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 257 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

"It's pretty frustrating," Rodgers said. "To go out and play like that is disappointing. We didn't do enough on offense to help our defense."

Kaepernick got off to a rocky start when Green Bay's Sam Shields picked off his second pass of the game and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.

"He does a great job of responding. He's done that every time he's thrown an interception, safety or turnover," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He's responded with a scoring drive. That's a rare quality. He's shown he's had the ability to come back."

The 49ers set a club record for most yards in a playoff game with 579, surpassing their total of 537 yards in a Super Bowl win over Miami after the 1984 season.

"It's a great accolade. It means a lot to this team," Kaepernick said of the record.

Kaepernick, who replaced injured starting quarterback Alex Smith midway through the regular season, also set a NFL rushing record for a quarterback by gaining 181 yards, including scoring gallops of 56 and 20 yards.

(China Daily 01/14/2013 page23)