the New Orleans Saints 36–32 in the divisional round, but then lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants 20–17 in overtime in the NFC Championship Game. 2012: Emergence of Kaepernick and first Super Bowl loss In the second season with Jim Harbaugh at the helm, San Francisco rolled ahead in impressive fashion, beating Green Bay on their home turf in Week 1. In Week 7 (the bye week), the 49ers stood 6–2. Afterwards, things started to take a strange turn as the team hosted division rival St. Louis at home. The match went into overtime and with neither veteran kicker David Akers or his opposite number Greg Zuerlein able to score, it ended 24–24 for the NFL's first tie game since 2008. In addition to the unusual ending, the game also saw Alex Smith concussed and his spot taken by backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had been drafted from Nevada in 2010 but had yet to see any regular season action. Kaepernick thus started the next week's game versus Chicago. The rookie starter stunned nearly everyone by throwing 243 yards and two TD passes in a 32–7 rout of the Bears. Although Alex Smith was subsequently cleared by team doctors to play, Kaepernick's performance caused Jim Harbaugh to name him starting quarterback until further notice. This move was not without some controversy since Smith had delivered a solid, if not outstanding performance over the last two seasons without any crippling mistakes. Kaepernick's stronger arm and scrambling ability proved a difficult temptation to resist with the added dimension of the "Pistol Offense". Kaepernick's dynamic play added more to his cause by trouncing the Saints in New Orleans in Week 12. But the following week, a bad play at the end of the rematch with the Rams resulted in San Francisco's third loss of the season. Despite this, Harbaugh announced that he was going to continue starting Kaepernick as long as he "has the hot hand". Colin Kaepernick was named the permanent starter before the first playoff game. Although San Francisco overcame a 17-point deficit against the Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC championship game, the team fell just short of overcoming a 22-point deficit in Super Bowl XLVII, at one point scoring 17 points in less than four and a half minutes in the February 3, 2013 game. The 49ers moved to a 5-1 Super Bowl record with