Colin Kaepernick wins NFC Offenseive Player of the Week

Colin Kaepernick's four touchdown performance that helped his San Francisco 49ers topple the New England Patriots on Sunday earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, the NFL announced Wednesday.

The second-year quarterback completed 14-of-25 passes for 216 yards and also threw an interception, but he showed poise in first building a 31-3 lead and then holding off New England after its rally tied the game at 31 points with less than seven minutes to play in the game.

The honor is the second one for a San Francisco quarterback this season. Alex Smith, who Kaepernick replaced as the starting quarterback, won the weekly award after the Oct. 29 game against the Arizona Cardinals that saw Smith complete 18-of-19 passes.

According to CSN Bay Area, it's the fourth time in San Francisco history that two quarterbacks have won such an award in the same year. Steve Young and Joe Montana both won the honor in 1988 and 1990, and Young and Steve Bono did it again in 1991.