The NFC Divisional Playoff game was a battle of the "dynamic" quarterbacks as Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick squared off. Newton was making his postseason debut while Kaepernick is basically a seasoned vet of the playoffs. After a strong four-quarter battle, it was Kaepernick that came out on top and he let Newton know it.
After scoring on a 4-yard scramble, San Francisco went up 20-10 on the Panthers in the third quarter. While the touchdown was impressive, the celebration was better. Kaepernick pretended to pull his jersey apart imitating Superman while also mocking Newton's preferred touchdown celebration. He then pretended to button his jersey back up and kissed his bicep.
"It's not the first nor the last time somebody does that," Newton said, via ESPN.com
Kaepernick referred to the mocking celebration as a simple "shout out" to Newton while not directly saying it was a reference to Newton. Tight end Vernon Davis told reporters that he did not mind the celebration from Kaepernick. He downplayed the idea that there could be a rivalry between the two quarterbacks despite their similarities.
"I don't fault him for that," Davis said. "Look, I can't judge him. We can't judge him. He was just excited. I'm sure he and Cam are good friends. I'm sure they're close. He didn't mean any harm at all."
Kaepernick and Newton get compared to a lot. Both quarterbacks were taken in the 2011 NFL Draft. Newton was the No. 1 overall draft pick while Kaepernick went 36th overall to the 49ers. Newton was an immediate starter while Kaepernick sat on the bench for a while before eventually taking over as the starter. The 49ers quarterback said his drop in the draft is often used as motivation during games like this.
So far, it is Kaepernick that has gotten the better of Newton so far in his career. The quarterback is fresh off a season where he took his team to the Super Bowl and is slowly getting them back into that position once again. Kaepernick finished the day going 15 of 28 for 196 yards passing. It was certainly an improvement from his previous game against the Panthers where he put up his worst statistical performance of his career.
The 49ers will now make their third-straight appearance in the NFC Championship game. That matchup will feature another similar quarterback dual between Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.
