NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Alex Smith Makes 49ers Ultimate Super Bowl Sleepers

San Francisco 49ers' Alex Smith isn’t pathetic anymore.

Those four words have been the key to the 49ers strong season. 

Despite earning the NFC’s No. 2 seed, most are still writing off Jim Harbaugh’s squad, but the non-patheticness of their quarterbacks makes the 49ers major Super Bowl sleepers.

After never once completing a season that surpassed mediocrity, Smith threw for 3,144 yards and 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions in 2011.  He is still a game manager, but you could call him the ultimate game manager.

Smith actually compares favorably to the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger. 

That season, Pittsburgh was led by a dominant defense and strong rushing attack.  San Francisco possesses both of those in the combination of Patrick Willis and company along with Frank Gore.

Remember, Big Ben wasn’t considered an elite quarterback back in ’05.  His job was to simply take care of the football and make plays when it mattered most.  Roethlisberger did those two things well enough for the Steelers to win the Super Bowl that season.

Placing Smith and Roethlisberger’s statistics side-by-side, Pittsburgh’s passer only recorded a 1.4 percent better completion percentage than the 49ers QB.  Smith’s touchdown-to-interception ratio, though, of 17-5 is superior to Roethlisberger who threw 17 touchdowns to nine picks.

Now, it’s unfair to label this year’s 49ers the 2005 Steelers after just comparing quarterbacks.  But again, San Francisco strengths compare favorably to the Steelers in other ways as well.

Pittsburgh’s top two rushers that season, Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis, combined for 1,570 yards on the ground while the 49ers’ Gore and Kendall Hunter have rushed for a total of 1,684 on the year. 

On defense, the Steelers fielded Joey Porter and Clark Haggans who recorded 19.5 sacks together in ’05, but they lacked a third dominant pass rusher.  San Francisco, on the other hand has three pass-rushing machines in Aldon Smith, Justin Smith and Ahmad Brooks as the trio boasts 28.5 quarterback takedowns. 

Turnover wise, Pittsburgh finished that regular season plus-7 compared to the 49ers who are plus-28.

Nobody gave the Steelers much of a shot that postseason, but as a sixth seed against the odds, they fought their way to a Super Bowl title. 

There are a minimal amount of San Francisco believers despite their first-round bye, but their team is built to shock the football world.

Wild Card Weekend Playoff Schedule

Date/Time	Home Team	Road Team	Channel
Sat. 1/7 4:30 p.m.	Houston Texans	Cincinnati Bengals	NBC
Sat. 1/7 8:00 p.m.	New Orleans Saints	Detroit Lions
Sun. 1/8 1:00 p.m.	New York Giants	Atlanta Falcons	FOX
Sun 1/8 4:30 p.m.	Denver Broncos	Pittsburgh Steelers	CBS

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels