Colin Kaepernick Responds to Stephon Gilmore Criticism After Week 6

The first start of the season didn't go as expected for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and now he is forced to justify his ability on the field.

After Buffalo Bills players badmouthed the quarterback following their 45-16 blowout in Week 6, the quarterback responded Tuesday, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area:

"

You’re always going to look at the opponent and that’s what you are. You’re critical of what they do, so you can take that and use it as an advantage. Ultimately, that’s what game-planning is. That’s an opinion. Everybody’s entitled to it. We move forward. We focus on what we can do to get this win this week versus the Bucs.

"

This is an upbeat attitude after the 49ers struggled to move the ball consistently in Week 6. While the squad scored 13 points in the first half, it only managed three in the second half to fall to 1-5 on the season.

After the game, Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore explained the team's strategy to stop the 28-year-old quarterback.

"We wanted to do everything we could to make him throw the ball," Gilmore said Monday, per Tyler Dunne of Bleacher Report. "I mean, he's an athlete. You can't take that from him. But when it comes to passing the ball, he can't really throw. ...We took advantage of that. 

"We wanted to make him beat us with his arm, and he couldn't do that." 

The plan to keep him contained had middling success, as Kaepernick was able to run for 66 yards on eight attempts. However, he clearly struggled as a passer, finishing 13-of-29 for 187 yards. On the plus side, he did have one touchdown and zero interceptions in the loss.

Kaepernick replaced Blaine Gabbert as the 49ers starting quarterback this week after four straight losses following a Week 1 win. Gabbert posted a 69.6 quarterback rating with five touchdowns and six interceptions in five games.