Bay Area rivals San Francisco and Oakland have faced off since 1970, both in the preseason and the regular season.
Sunday afternoon can't get here soon enough for Colin Kaepernick.
That was very clear by the words and demeanor displayed by the San Francisco 49ers quarterback on Wednesday. Kaepernick's weekly media session was very direct.
Coming off his worst outing of the 2014 regular season (121 passing yards, two interceptions and a 36.7 quarterback rating against the Seattle Seahawks), San Francisco's signal-caller had the appearance of a player who was ready to play five days before the 49ers are set to visit the Oakland Raiders. In fact, Kaepernick kept his answers brief. He only grinned once.
A sample:
Reporter: "How is the team bouncing back right now? Where's the focus?"
Kaepernick: "The Raiders."
"What about you personally?"
"The Raiders."
Kaepernick had a run of 18 consecutive games with a touchdown pass snapped last week against Seattle. It's imperative Kaepernick begins a different kind of streak, a winning streak.
The 49ers need to win their four remaining games to keep their playoff hopes alive. In addition, they need NFC Wild Card contenders like the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions to stumble in the final quarter of the regular season.
"We know what we have to do," said Kaepernick, who maintained that San Francisco's confidence on offense has not been shaken.
When asked what he's most looking forward to about the biggest rivalry in Bay Area football, Kaepernick simply said, "Winning."
