SANTA CLARA – Robert Saleh has had some good days since returning as 49ers defensive coordinator.
Facing the Los Angeles Rams in San Francisco's 42-26 loss on Sunday at Levi's Stadium definitely was not one of them.
From the all-too-easy touchdown that Los Angeles scored on its opening drive to senseless penalties for a late hit and 12 men on the field, there wasn’t a whole lot for San Francisco to hang its hat on in this clash of NFC West division rivals.
The 49ers' offense had its share of miscues as well, but the game was decided when Saleh’s group was on the field.
And it came against a Rams team that has several key weapons but has been middling for much of the 2025 NFL season.
“We knew it’d be a big challenge going in,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game. “We know how good they are but thought we could slow them down and find a way to get off the field on third down. Obviously didn’t do that very well.”
With apologies to Shanahan, that’s putting it mildly.
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The Rams put up 180 yards of offense in the first quarter alone and finished with 401. Los Angeles gained 31 first downs, converted 55 percent (5 of 9) on third downs and scored five touchdowns on six trips into the red zone.
Individually, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for four touchdowns, extending his streak to three games with four or more TDs.
Granted, the 49ers’ defense has been decimated by injuries this season. It looked like that situation might become worse when Tatum Bethune fell to the turf and had to be helped off the field before returning and finishing the day as the 49ers' leading tackler.
“We just got to get stuff going,” Tatum said postgame. “We understand what happened during the game, and we already know what needs to be done during the week in our preparation and communication.
“It was a bad game, but we were still kind of in it towards the end. We kind of let it go, but that just showed hope, and it shows fight throughout the team. So of course, this is going to build make us stronger, and we just got to learn from it and get better.”
The schedule certainly is working in the 49ers' favor.
Their next five games are against the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans, all but one of which are in last place in their respective divisions.
None of that will matter, though, if the 49ers roll out a defense that played like the one at Levi’s Stadium against the Rams.
“I just feel like they came in [and] was the better team today,” 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir said. “They played better than us. We got to own up to it and then come back and bounce back”
There were a few moments worth remembering.
Keion White got his first sack with the Red and Gold. An injury to Bethune, who has played well since Fred Warner’s season-ending injury, would have dealt another blow to the 49ers' beat-up defense, but they caught a break when he returned.
Minor achievements, for sure, but on a day like this, they basically were lipstick on a pig.