The 1972 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 23rd season in the National Football League and their 27th overall. The 49ers appeared in the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
After an ankle injury to quarterback John Brodie in a loss to the Giants to fall to 2–3, Steve Spurrier stepped in and turned things around with brilliant performances to get the 49ers back in the playoff picture by going 5–2–1 in the next eight games. In the regular season finale, Brodie returned late in the third quarter and threw two touchdown passes in the fourth to rally the 49ers to a 20–17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings for an 8–5–1 record and third straight division title.
In the divisional playoffs at Candlestick Park, the 49ers looked poised for a return to the NFC Championship game, leading the Dallas Cowboys 28–13 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys scored seventeen unanswered points to win by two.
This was the third consecutive season that San Francisco lost to Dallas in the playoffs, and the 49ers' last postseason appearance for nine years.