Week 1: 49ers Pack a Punch vs the Pack, 34-28.

Eight months after watching San Francisco's Colin Kaepenick torch the Packers' defense for an NFL-record 181 yards rushing, the most ever by a QB, Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy and his defensive personnel were itching for revenge against the multi-talented quarterback who led the 49ers to a 45-31 win over the Pack in last year's NFC Divisional round meeting. Being left with many sleepless nights and nightmares ending with the 49ers QB sprinting to the end zone kissing his bicep, Green Bay spent the entire offseason studying film, trying to get a beat on Kaepernick and the read-option. And though they kept him at bey on the ground on Sunday, they were unable to find an answer for him through the air. Having already showcased his running ability, this time Kaepernick utilized his weapons through the passing game, throwing for a career-high 412 yards, eclipsing both the 300 and 400 yard mark for the first time in his young career.

Making his 49ers debut, Anquan Boldin stole the show by nabbing 13 grabs for 208 yards and a touchdown. Looked upon by head coach Jim Harbaugh to be the fill-in for the injured Michael Crabtree, Boldin impressed his new team just like he did when they faced him in the Super Bowl in February. With Boldin being by far the number one target of the day, Kaepernick also showed plenty of love to his tight-end Vernon Davis. The chemistry issues that Kaepernick seemed to have with Davis last year prior to the Super Bowl were nonexistent on Sunday as the two connected six times for 98-yards and a pair of touchdowns. With arguably the best quarterback in the game today on the other sideline in Aaron Rodgers, the former league MVP also logged a nice outing of his own, throwing for 333 yards and a trio of touchdowns as wide-outs Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb each eclipsed the century mark in receiving yards and hauled in a touchdown respectively. But unlike San Francisco's offense which was flawless in the turnover department, the Packers were unable to play mistake-free football as they suffered both an Eddie Lacy fumble and an Aaron Rodgers interception in the first half.

Rookie safety Eric Reid dazzled in his NFL debut and made it obvious why the 49ers traded up to snag him with their first round pick in April's Draft. The kid out of LSU recorded six tackles to go along with the only interception of the game, a heads up play on a tipped pass intended for Jermichael Finley that came within inches of touching the ground. During a dry-spell in which the 49ers defense had a hard time making tackles, the 21-year old Reid made it look rather easy and had no trouble adapting to the starting role. Aside from poor tackling, the only other issue the 49ers seemed to have in their season-opener was play clock management as Kaepernick had to blow a handful of timeouts at times they could've done without. But given it's only week 1, there's plenty of time for adjustments to be made.

The one topic everyone seemed to talk about following the game however, was the late-hit that Packers linebacker Clay Matthews put on Colin Kaepernick during the second quarter. Matthews who was in the news earlier this week for publicly saying he and the Green Bay D were targeting the 49ers QB, made a lunging tackle on Kaepernick who was several yards out of bounds after scrambling and coming up short on a 3rd and 6 play. Penalty flags were thrown for the late hit before a fracas ensued as 49ers left tackle Joe Staley ran to his QB's aid and confronted Matthews, leading to both teams coming to blows as Staley was hit with a foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. Both penalties offset one another but instead of losing a down, the officials mistakenly rewarded San Francisco another down. The hit did anything but startle the third year Quarterback out of Nevada and in fact fueled the Niners offense who scored on the very next play on a 10-yard touchdown connection to Anquan Boldin. Though the call didn't necessarily cost Green Bay the game, it definitely changed the complexion of it.

With the 49ers leading for most of the ballgame, the Packers took their only lead of the day in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run in by Eddie Lacy, putting Green Bay up, 28-24. But less than three minutes later, Kaepernick and company would respond and retake the lead after a five play drive was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Frank Gore. Gore's late touchdown coupled with kicker Phil Dawson's second field goal in three tries would put San Francisco up for good as the 49ers kicked off their farewell season to the historic Candlestick Park in winning fashion with the 34-28 victory, their third straight over the cheese-heads. Kaepernick's dominant 412 yard performance gave him the most passing yards in a 49ers season opener and made him just the fifth QB in the Super Bowl era to log 400 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the first game of the season. With the win, coach Jim Harbaugh became the first head coach in 49ers franchise history to win his first three season openers.

Noteworthy: The 49ers won the time of possession battle vs the Packers: 38:35 to 21:25. Defensive-end Aldon Smith who set a franchise-record with 19.5 sacks last season, got to Rodgers twice on Sunday. Boldin single-handedly matched what the WR's on his former team did in their season opener: Ravens WR's: 15 catches, 215 yards, 1 TD.

Week 2 Preview: With the game against the Packers in San Francisco's rear-view mirror, Jim Harbaugh and company looks to prepare for their Sunday Night showdown with the division-rival Seattle Seahawks. Predicted by many to dethrone the 49ers for the NFC West title this season, the Seahawks got off to a shaky start in week 1. Seattle who won their season-opener on the road against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, looked like anything but a playoff team in the 12-7 win squeaked out with the thanks of a late 4th Quarter fumble by Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams on the 8-yard line. But coach Harbaugh knows that if anything can wake a sleeping giant, it's the raucous crowd better known as the -- 12th Man at Seattle's CenturyLink Field. You can expect nothing short of a hard-hitting, trash-talking affair in the hostile environment on Sunday night which just so happens to be Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll's Birthday. A Birthday the 49ers hope to spoil by sending the Birthday boy home with a Seattle loss.


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