49ers identify area of team that needs most improvement

An obvious thing that needs improving.

Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The last thing the San Francisco 49ers need is to suffer back-to-back losses when they face the New York Giants this weekend.

The defeat against the Houston Texans exposed several areas that need improvement. But the 49ers’ 5–3 record carries extra significance if they want to regain the momentum they built earlier in the season.

The gap between a one-game lead and a three-game cushion after Week 9 could prove pivotal.

How the 49ers coaches are preparing for the Giants

Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The 49ers need to sharpen their offensive focus after the Texans game revealed one of their biggest shortcomings.

They’re putting up just 20.0 points per game on the season, 18.0 over the last three, which ranks 25th in the league.

The average should arguably be even lower, given how little offensive production the 49ers managed against the Texans. If anything, it was a surprise that the 49ers secured two touchdowns.

Before the Giants game, offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak told reporters exactly what the 49ers are working to prevent from happening again.

"It wasn't just one thing. You could point in any direction, but when you look at it, to me it came down to we didn't stay on the field," he said.

"We weren't able to help our defense by converting a third down in that first half which would've allowed us to run the ball more.

"We didn't run the ball enough, but we weren't on the field enough, so it started with the first half and then the third quarter we come out and we go three-and-out.

"I think we had a second and three and we had a zero-yard run, and then we get sacked. And so, it was like we didn't do enough to stay on the field in different areas.

"Should we have run the ball better? Yeah. But we needed to be better on third down and that's what it came down to.

"So, at the end of the day, you got to convert third downs. You got to give yourself chances to make more plays and we just didn't do it."

The Texans game was arguably the 49ers’ worst performance of the season. Getting that out of the way early gives them motivation to make significant improvements ahead of the matchup with the Giants.

George Kittle rightly blamed the offense last week, but he and Christian McCaffrey in particular will still be expected to perform at their usual high standards.