Vernon Davis' head-nod had 49ers fans nodding their heads all Saturday afternoon.
It was that simple for San Francisco's Pro Bowl tight end on the first score of the team's 34-28 victory over the Green Bay – a 20-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick, past the reach of Packers strong safety M.D. Jennings.
"Run full-speed, give 'em a head-nod inside, take the back pylon," Davis said of his thinking during the post-corner route. "I guess there was open space because the safety thought he should be more on my inside than his outside. I thought he was pretty square. I gave him the head-nod… I did exactly what I was supposed to do on that play. Colin looked up saw me run toward the pylon, put the ball right where it needed to be."
That was just the first of two Davis touchdowns. He caught six of nine passes directed his way by Kaepernick for a total of 98 yards. It was the fifth multi-touchdown game of his career.
PHOTO GALLERY: 49ERS V. PACKERS
With those two scores, Davis now has the most scores – six in five career games – by a tight end against Green Bay in NFL history. The eighth-year pro didn't have an answer as to his recent and not-so-recent success against the Packers – he said, "It just plays out that way" – but his rapport with Kaepernick appeared to be the prime cause on Saturday.
Fox analyst and former teammate Randy Moss said this week he wasn't sure about Davis' rapport with Kaepernick, and the ex-NFL star had a point. Davis caught just two touchdowns in Kaepernick's first 10 NFL starts in 2012.
They've connected twice already in 2013.
After that well-executed first-quarter score, quarterback and receiver teamed again for a two-yard touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter. Kaepernick, who finished with 412 yards through the air and three total touchdowns, found Davis on a play-action fake, rolling to his right.
Davis was asked if the 49ers receiving corps, a group that included Anquan Boldin for the first time on Sunday, was motivated by naysayers pointing to the absence of injured wideout Michael Crabtree. Boldin, oh by the way, snagged 13 of 17 passes headed his way for a game-high 208 yards.
"It's not about one guy. Just because one guy's down, doesn't mean the team can't win," Davis said. "We're just scratching the surface. This is only the first game."
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