The New England Patriots (10-3) will take on the San Francisco 49ers (9-3) in what should be a grueling battle of division leaders in a Sunday night NFL matchup.  The game will feature the league's best offense in the Pats going up against the No. 1 scoring defense in the 49ers.

New England, who has already clinched the AFC East title and sits behind Houston by one game for the conference's top seed, will attempt to win its fourteenth consecutive game in December.

However, much of the chatter has been about sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is hoping to mirror Tom Brady's second-year Super Bowl championship.

San Francisco can lock down the NFC West with a win against the Patriots combined with a Seattle Seahawks loss to the Buffalo Bills.

 "It's a great opportunity to go out and show what we're capable of.  They're going to give you a lot of different looks on defense.  You just have to be ready for it," Kaepernick told ESPN.

Kaepernick was 18 of 23 and threw for 185 yards in the team's 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins last week.  To top it off, he's completed 67.4 percent of his passes while starting and is averaging 8.3 yards per attempt.

The youngster also put his running abilities on display when he put up a late touchdown on 50-yards.  Despite backing up Alex Smith throughout most of the season, Kaepernick is still ranked third in ground yardage among NFL quarterbacks.

"There are definitely things that we're doing that tailor the offense to his skill set," coach Jim Harbaugh stated.

CLICK HERE to watch the San Francisco 49ers go up against the New England Patriots via free live stream.  Coverage of the game is set to begin at 8:20 p.m. EST on Sunday, Dec. 16.

Tags: NFL.