Originally posted on 01/11/2014:

Couple interesting points:

1. Last time these teams met in Candlestick final score was 10-9 Panthers. 49ers were missing Crabtree, Davis (knocked out with concussion), Aldon Smith - one of the best pass rushers in the NFL - and one saftey also out with concussion. All players are back and will play tomorrow in Carolina. bleacherrport wrote up an article on the 49ers D arguing that they play on a different level so long as both Smiths are on the field (Justin and Aldon).
2. Brian Billick ranks 49ers with a toxic differential of +30, 2nd only to Seahawks. "Toxic differential essentially combines turnover differential and explosive-play differential. (Explosive plays are those that gain 20-plus yards.)" Billick's opinion is that this statistic is THE most determinative factor (even more than turnover differential) when predicting which team will come out on top. Also from separate source, "[t]he holy grail is having a double positive, in other words a team is winning the turnover differential AND the explosive play differential." It should be noted that Panthers rank top 10 in toxic differential as well.
3. Colin Kaepernick managed ~16 yards rushing vs. Carolina last time. This goes out the door given it's playoffs time. In post-season, Kaep is averaging 90+ yards per game rushing. Even if you exclude his Green Bay explosion last year's playoff (180+ yards rushing if I recall), he still averages 60+ yards rushing per game.

Edit: I think the best explanation for Kaepernick's increase in rushing yards post-season was given by a fellow SBR member who argued that his QB safety goes out the window (in other words since it's playoffs time they'll take their shots and let him loose on the other teams). Kaep's overall QB numbers are equally impressive - he's played like a beast every playoff game to date.