National Football League

Colin Kaepernick's first TD pass of the season went for 53 yards

Published Nov. 15, 2016 1:56 p.m. ET

Dan Graf

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick played so poorly last season that he lost his starting job midway through the year and didn’t get it back until his replacement, Blaine Gabbert, was so thoroughly awful in his first five games this season that coach Chip Kelly had no choice but to give the job back to Kaepernick.

So how would Kaepernick play in his first start since last November, Sunday against the Buffalo Bills? Well, he certainly got things off on the right foot with this 53-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith early in the second quarter.

That was Kaepernick’s longest pass since he connected with Smith for a 76-yard score in Week 6 last season against the Ravens. Kaepernick was surprisingly sharp in his first half of work, completing eight of 11 passes for 135 yards and the one touchdown.