San Francisco 49ers 2012 Schedule: Downloadable, Printable

Who would've thought Jim Harbaugh would come into San Francisco and take an underachieving team all the way to the NFC championship game, with Alex Smith under center, last summer? As a 49ers fan, I can still recall their first preseason game, when they played the Saints in New Orleans—feeling thankful that Smith didn't have to play an entire game, for surely he would have been killed because of the 49ers inability to block.

Nevertheless, Harbargh led the 49ers to the second-best record in the NFC, and we all know what happened when San Francisco played New Orleans for keeps.

Turning the Page

While the 49ers got away with running the football, playing great defense and special teams, to help Smith out, this year they may find themselves playing in come-from-behind fashion. It's not because they've lost anyone on defense, far from it, as they are bringing the band back for another run, signing all key free agents.

Problem is, they are coming off a winning season, and that means a harder schedule. With trips to Green Bay, New England and, of course, New Orleans, you can bet there will be times the game scripts change and demand that Smith throw the football in predictable passing downs.

Only time will tell if vertical additions Randy Moss and Mario Manningham will pay off, but if either one of those receivers can help tilt coverage, it could mean good things for fellow pass catchers like Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, etc.

Just look at how Andrew Luck developed under Harbaugh, as an example of a quarterback who doesn't have the strongest arm, but does a good job of taking calculated shots down the field, as hope that Smith can develop into a wiser quarterback this year.

Will it happen? Who the heck knows, but if the 49ers are hoping for another playoff berth—let alone a first-round bye—they'd better hope this passing game and offensive line are up to the task, likely to be in front of them.

49ers 2012 Schedule
Week	Date	Opponent	Game Time
1	Sep 9th	at Packers	4:15 PM
2	Sep 16th	Lions	8:20 PM
3	Sep 23th	at Vikings	1:00 PM
4	Sep 30th	at Jets	1:00 PM
5	Oct 7th	Bills	4:15 PM
6	Oct 14th	Giants	4:15 PM
7	Oct 18th	Seahawks	8:20 PM
8	Oct 29th	at Cardinals	8:30 PM
9	Bye Week
10	Nov 11th	Rams	4:15 PM
11	Nov 19th	Bears	8:30 PM
12	Nov 25th	at Saints	4:15 PM
13	Dec 2th	at Rams	1:00 PM
14	Dec 9th	Dolphins	4:15 PM
15	Dec 16th	at Patriots	8:20 PM
16	Dec 23rd	at Seahawks	4:15 PM
17	Dec 30th	Cardinals	4:15 PM

Please Note: All Games Are East Coast Time

More 2012 Schedule Info:

49ers Download / Print Version of Schedule

All 32 Teams  

Strength of Schedule vs. Run

Strength of Schedule vs. Pass

Strength of Schedule – Point