Many critics and observers thought Colin Kaepernick, in his third season as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback, would have been further along in his development as a pure dropback passer by now.

And yet, there were signs of an improvement in his decision-making in Monday night’s victory at the St. Louis Rams, a game in which he threw for 343 yards, the second most of his career, with three touchdown passes.

Perhaps most impressive was the fact that the three TDs went to three different wide receivers. It was, according to ESPN Stats & Info, the first time Kaepernick had at last three touchdown passes without an interception when targeting wideouts.

“I always think Colin plays well,” Niners coach Jim Harbaugh said after the Monday night win in St. Louis. “He just keeps doing it and doing it. No turnovers from the quarterback position. He is really good at running the team and getting us in the right play and throwing the ball really well.

“He had some pinpoint throws where he laid it in there perfectly. He got the step-up and the check-down and kept the chains moving.”

When throwing to his wide receivers against the Rams, Kaepernick completed 16 of 24 passes, with an 11.0 yards-per-attempt average, compared to going 6 of 12 with a 5.6 yards-per-attempt average when throwing to anyone else.

Also, per ESPN Stats & Info, it was Kaepernick’s second career game with at least 300 yards passing, three TD passes and no interceptions. He became the first 49ers quarterback with multiple such games since Jeff Garcia in 2000 and 2001.