Robert Saleh Highlights 49ers’ Key Area to Improve Against Seahawks

This might help the 49ers win.

Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh reacts after defeating the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers travel to face off with arch rivals the Seattle Seahawks, with a place in the NFC Championship Game on the line.

Ahead of the matchup, the Seahawks are favored to win by 7 points. They’ve had the week off and enjoy home-field advantage, while the 49ers have traveled from West to East and back in under two weeks with a depleted roster.

On paper, it’s obvious why the Seahawks are favored. But as the 49ers showed against the Philadelphia Eagles, they’re capable of producing another shock victory.

Robert Saleh: The 49ers will have to play 'a lot better' than Week 18 performance

Aug 23, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh celebrates after a play during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Despite allowing only 13 points in Week 18 without Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, against one of the league’s best offenses, it was certainly impressive.

But there’s always room for improvement.

According to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, there’s one key area the 49ers must improve to have a chance.

“We need to do better on third down which means we need to do better on first and second down in terms of limiting the leaky yardage that we allowed," he shared with reporters on Wednesday.

"It felt like after the first quarter we settled in and played the run game very well. There were a couple of plays early in the game, obviously the third-and-two that went for 30 yards, the third-and-17 that inflated the numbers more than we would’ve liked.

"But, overall felt like we really settled in the last three quarters with regard to the run game. What we weren’t very happy about was our third down performance.

A"nd that’s where in every game when you could look at it, when offense is struggling on third down and defense is struggling on third down, you’re going to end up in a situation where they’re hogging the ball and it’s going to be hard to score.

"We were fortunate that we only gave up 13 points and we’re going to have to play a lot better to keep it that way.”

He may be right, but on the flip side, this is also a key issue on offense. The 49ers were limited to just 3 points against an elite Seahawks defense, converting only 2 of 9 third downs at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers will have Trent Williams back after he missed the Seattle matchup with a first-time hamstring injury. His return could be the missing key to victory, given his impact on the game.