How many pick-sixes does it take for the San Francisco 49ers to consider benching Colin Kaepernick?

A few weeks ago, that was shaping up to be a fair question.

The fact that Kaepernick could be benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert wasn't exactly far-fetched. 

Yes, things were bleak, but they've improved. And before they got bleak, things in San Francisco were actually pretty good, whether anybody can remember it or not.

Again, yes, the 49ers are still just 2-4, but let's just be blunt: if you're of the opinion that Kaepernick has been the worst quarterback in the NFL, then I'm sorry, but you're wrong.

Okay, You're not Very Wrong

Entering Week 6, Kaepernick owned a Passing numberFire Live, Kaepernick secured a Passing NEP of 15.75 against the Baltimore Ravens. In terms of raw stats, he was 16 of 27 for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns, so it's not surprising that he posted a really solid day analytically.

Basically, his games in Week 5 and 6 undid the negatives that his Weeks 3 and 4 caused, and he's back to where he was -- roughly -- after two weeks.

No, this isn't going to get those wins back for the 49ers, but his opponents in those games -- Green Bay and Arizona -- were top-seven defenses according to our Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play metrics entering Week 6.

He's going to see a significant boost to his Passing NEP and could potential climb somewhere around the midway point of quarterback rankings in the metric -- and that includes his two awful outings. After all, only 16 quarterbacks through Week 5 owned Passing NEP scores higher than 16.

Fair and Honest

Kaepernick has had some truly horrific games this season, and nobody needs any sort of metric to prove that.

However, before and after those games (again, against some of the best pass defenses in the NFL after adjusting for schedule), he's been playing like a top-10 quarterback.

Not many people are willing to say it, but Colin Kaepernick -- even after some meltdowns -- has been good this season.