Colin Kaepernick Taking 49ers Nowhere Without Better Offensive Line Play

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has firmly established himself as one of the more intriguing young signal-callers in today's NFL.

Though he did get a good look at one of the best of all time in Peyton Manning on Sunday, he may not develop into one of the "greatest quarterbacks ever," as ESPN's Ron Jaworski once suggested.

However, the 26-year-old Nevada product has done some impressive things during his young pro career.

Specifically, he has helped the 49ers reach the NFC Championship Game in each of the past two seasons and made an appearance in the Super Bowl two years ago.

While Kaepernick's combination of pocket awareness, mobility and arm strength makes him a dangerous weapon under center, it will be difficult for him to take the 49ers on yet another long playoff run this season.

This will be especially true if San Francisco's offensive line continues to perform like it did against the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

The unit has experienced its ups and downs this season, even before Sunday's game. However, the offensive line was far from a complete disaster.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the 49ers' offensive line was ranked sixth in the NFL in run-blocking and 19th in pass-blocking prior to Sunday.

A strong running game, a stout defense and Kaepernick's previously mentioned mobility helped mask some of the pass-blocking issues and helped the team score an average of 23.5 points per game (14th in the NFL) through Week 6.

Unfortunately, the offensive line's issues were on full display against the Broncos in Sunday's prime-time spotlight.

A potentially season-ending leg injury to center Daniel Kilgore—according to orthopedic surgeon David J. Chao—certainly didn't help a unit that was already without guard Mike Iupati:

Kaepernick was consistently hurried, often hit and sacked six times by the Broncos defense. His rushed throws often fell off target, resulting in one very ugly interception and a couple of near-misses.

He finished the night a very unremarkable 24-of-39 for 263 yards, a touchdown and the interception.

Run-blocking also proved to be a problem, as the 49ers were held to just 62 net rushing yards and 3.4 yards per attempt.

As a whole, the offense simply couldn't muster enough firepower to keep pace with Manning and the high-flying Broncos offense.

The biggest problem for Kaepernick wasn't necessarily the consistent pressure, but the fact that Denver's contain schemes forced him to remain in the pocket for much of the game and took away his ability to get to the edge and attack the defense with his legs (18 yards on three carries).

Because his ability to get to the edge was taken away, Kaepernick also had trouble evading pressure inside the pocket.

This has to be a concern for San Francisco moving forward. Not every team is going to drop 42 points on the 49ers defense, but Kaepernick only led the offense to 10 points against Denver's starters.

That simply won't be good enough to beat most opponents, especially with the defense dealing with injuries to the likes of NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis.

It has become a bit cliched to talk about developing "the blueprint" to beat a certain system or scheme in the NFL. However, the Broncos did a pretty darn good job of exposing one of the few real weaknesses of this 49ers team.

Kaepernick just isn't quite experienced enough to put a team on his shoulders the way a guy like Manning can and deliver week in and week out.

He has talent and playmaking ability, so it isn't exactly fair to consider Kaepernick a game manager. However, he needs help to deliver a star-studded performance—especially against a dangerous foe like the Broncos.

The 49ers have a bye next week, so there is some time for injuries to heal and issues to be fixed before the team faces the rival St. Louis Rams in Week 9.

However, San Francisco faces a tough final stretch to the season that includes two games against the Seattle Seahawks as well as games against the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals in the final five weeks of the year.

If the team cannot find a way to get Kaepernick some help—especially in the form of pass protection—San Francisco may even risk missing out on a playoff spot altogether.