On San Francisco's second play of the 2013 preseason, Colin Kaepernick rolled to his right and fired a 12-yard pass to Vernon Davis in the flat. The 49ers tight end was running free from a pair of Denver Broncos defenders and presented an easy completion for his starting quarterback.
It was very much like the type of plays Kaepernick and Davis had been consistently producing in training camp.
On his next pass attempt, Kaepernick connected with Anquan Boldin, his other favorite training camp target, for a 10-yard gain.
"They're both great players," Kaaepenick said. "They both have great attributes that quarterbacks like. Anquan has great hands - he's a play-maker. He's going after the ball and Vernon has great speed, great ability to get open. So, as a quarterback, those are two people you get the ball to."
Kaepernick then completed another short crossing route to Boldin to pick up a first down. Just like that, the 49ers were in Denver territory and the offense had established early momentum. Boldin caught the low pass and maintained possession with a defender falling on his back.
It was a good sign for the new passing tandem to display their growing chemistry for the first time at Candlestick Park.
"It's very exciting," Kaepernick said. "As a quarterback going through training camp, I've learned with Anquan you can give him a chance on plays like that and more times than not he's going to make that play."
Kaepernick's best play of the drive, however, was a 12-yard pass to Marlon Moore, San Francisco's other starting wideout. Kaepernick felt the pressure of Broncos pass-rusher Von Miller on a 3rd-and-15 and escaped the pocket to his right immediately.
Kaepernick looked up field and launched a pass across his body to Moore, but it was just short of the first-down marker. The 49ers settled for a 32-yard field goal from Phil Dawson, their only points in the first half.
That would be all for Kaepernick, but it was a strong showing for the third-year signal-caller.
He finished the game 4-of-4 with 38 passing yards and six rushing yards on a third-and-short conversion.
"It was good to be back out on the field," Kaepernick said. "It was just good to be playing again."
Colt McCoy entered the game as San Francisco's No. 2 quarterback and shared second-quarter reps with Scott Tolzien.
