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The 49ers' Colin Kaepernick rushed for a quarterback playoff record 181 yards and accounted for 4 touchdowns.
SAN FRANCISCO — There were 22 players on the field, dozens more on the sideline, 69,732 fans at Candlestick Park and millions watching from home.
For much of Saturday night's playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers, it seemed as if they all revolved around a single, budding, shining star: Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick, justifying November's decision by San Francisco Coach Jim Harbaugh to hand the team's championship aspirations to an untested, strong-armed second-year quarterback, dominated the field with long scrambles and pinpoint throws. He kept the Packers' defense as off-balance as a slowing top, set records and outplayed the reigning N.F.L. most valuable player, Aaron Rodgers.
And on a cool, clear evening that may stand as the coming-out party for San Francisco's next great quarterback, he led the 49ers to a 45-31 victory and a spot in the N.F.C. championship game.
"Just a guy playing football," 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree said of Kaepernick. "Man, he's making it happen — with his feet, his arm, making plays. He's a playmaker."
The 49ers will either play the Falcons in Atlanta or face the division-rival Seattle Seahawks at Candlestick Park next Sunday, for a spot in the Super Bowl.
There will be two Harbaughs coaching for a Super Bowl berth. John Harbaugh, Jim's older brother, is head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Denver Broncos in overtime earlier on Saturday. The Ravens will play in the A.F.C. championship game against either New England or Houston.
Saturday's games overlapped; Jim Harbaugh received word of his brother's success through the coaching headset in the first quarter.
By then, it was clear that San Francisco's chances were in the hands of Kaepernick. He completed 17 of 31 passes for 263 yards, with two touchdowns to Crabtree in the second quarter and an early interception that was returned for a touchdown to open the game's scoring.
But Kaepernick was at his most damaging when he ran. He not only outgained running back Frank Gore, who had 119 rushing yards, but Kaepernick's 181 rushing yards, on 16 carries, were the most for an N.F.L. quarterback in any game, regular season or postseason.
His 56-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter broke a 24-24 tie and the Packers' spirit. The 49ers scored touchdowns on the next two possessions. The 21-point surge came on steamrolling drives of 80, 93 and 93 yards.
Kaepernick became the third quarterback with two rushing and two passing touchdowns in a playoff game, joining Otto Graham (1954 and 1955) and Jay Cutler (2011).
Now Kaepernick, after only seven regular-season starts and armed with the element of surprise, stands one victory from joining Joe Montana and Steve Young as the only quarterbacks to lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl.
San Francisco's 579 total yards broke the franchise postseason record set in Super Bowl XIX, when the Montana-led 49ers beat Miami.
After the game, as he heaped praise on his teammates, Kaepernick was asked if he should be categorized as a passer or a runner. "I don't like to be categorized," he said.
The 49ers reached last year's N.F.C. championship game behind the cool efficiency of the veteran quarterback Alex Smith. Midway through this season, it appeared they were headed deep into the postseason again with the same mistake-free mantra: Make Smith as invisible as possible. At his best, he would control the game, manage it, but not dominate it.
But Harbaugh worried that Smith, as solid and dependable as he had become under his tutelage, was the weakest link on a roster bulging with win-now talent. When Smith sustained a concussion in November, Kaepernick stepped in and dazzled in his first start.
It was enough of a test run for Harbaugh. He kept Kaepernick in the starting role, despite Smith's 6-2 record and position as the league's top-rated passer. Debate raged in San Francisco over whether the coach had abandoned a surer and steadier approach to the Super Bowl for a much riskier one.
As if to build drama, Kaepernick's second pass Saturday was intercepted and returned 52 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Sam Shields, giving Green Bay a 7-0 lead.
But Kaepernick quickly led an 80-yard drive, ending with a 20-yard scramble for a touchdown.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: January 13, 2013
A summary that appeared with an earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of the 49ers' quarterback. He is Colin Kaepernick, not Kaeprnick.
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