Thursday Night Football: Colin Kaepernick On Track To Right The Ship For The 49ers

Thursday Night Football may just be Colin Kaepernick’s best chance at redemption.

Just one season after leading the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl berth, the third-year quarterback has struggled mightily in 2013. With his team standing at 1-2, a Thursday Night Football matchup with the St. Louis Rams could be exactly what he needed.

So far, so good. At halftime, Kaepernick has led the 49ers to the game’s only two touchdowns, including a 20-yard strike to Anquan Boldin. The 49ers notched a second touchdown just before halftime, giving them a 14-3 lead.

This week, with his team coming off two consecutive blowout losses, Colin Kaepernick embraced the hatred coming his way. In those losses Kaepernick had no touchdowns and connected on less than 50 percent of his passes, prompting many fans to call for a change at quarterback.

So on his Twitter feed this week, Kaepernick decided to embrace his haters and favorited a series of angry tweets aimed at his poor play. Many of the haters bemoaned the 49ers decision to go with Kaepernick rather than Alex Smith, who looks like the better quarterback this year in leading his Kansas City Chiefs to a surprise 3-0 start.

A strong Thursday Night Football performance may be enough for Colin Kaepernick to fend off the critics for a while, but a halftime lead isn’t the most reassuring thing for the 49ers. Last season the Rams gave them fits, fighting them to a tie in the first meeting and then nearly knocking off the 49ers in the second.