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Earl Thomas III and the Seattle Seahawks haven’t had a lot of time to dwell on last week’s loss to the Carolina Panthers. They’re already gearing up to try to win their first road in prime time on Thursday night.

The Seahawks (2-4) travel to take on their biggest NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers (2-4). Both squads will be desperate to win this matchup, which is key in keeping pace with the division-leading Arizona Cardinals (4-2). While the two rivals hold the same record, they’re in different places entering this game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The 49ers are coming off a 25-20 home victory over the Baltimore Ravens, while the Seahawks are fresh off a heartbreaking 27-23 defeat against the Panthers.

However, the always-optimistic Earl isn’t worried about the Seahawks’ slow start to the season. He believes that the rough start is just part of the journey.

“This is great, really,” Earl said. “It’s a part of the story. We’re going to outlast this. This is why we’re in this position in the first place. This is why we’re the best. These situations, they’re not going to break us.”

When Cam Newton hit Greg Olsen for a touchdown late in the game last week in Seattle, it was an uncharacteristic mistake from the Legion of Boom. As ET explained afterward, it was all a miscommunication that put Earl and corner Richard Sherman in contrasting coverages, which allowed the Carolina tight end to run free.

“That’s the first time I can ever remember Earl not knowing what the other guys were doing,” said head coach Pete Carroll said. “I don’t know how that occurred. There were a couple of guys too, who, were in question of the call. I’m not exactly sure how that happened yet on the field. We know what we called and what we signaled in. K.J. got it and he started the process. It just didn’t get exchanged properly.”

With just three full days to shake off a fourth quarter collapse, No. 29 knew that Monday was an important day to put the past behind him and take a new mindset going into San Francisco.

“Today is a big day for us,’’ Earl told the media on Monday.

Although the Seahawks have failed to get to a winning record this season like most had expected, the defense has improved in areas throughout the season. After going the first four games without a turnover, Seattle has recorded three interceptions over the last two games against strong passing attacks.

Two of those interceptions were caught by ET III—one in each game. Safety Kam Chancellor pulled down the third after Earl’s last week. Still, the defense left a receiver open last week at the most crucial time. ET says that the L.O.B., and the defense as a whole, just hasn’t found the killer mindset that has made it one of the league’s best in recent years.

“I think we’re not being ourselves,’’ No. 29 said Monday. “I think we’re distracted in some areas.’’

Perhaps the return of All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner will help matters. Wagner has been sidelined with an injury over the past few weeks, but is expected to return for Thursday’s game.

While the Legion of Boom has proved to be more porous than it has in the past two seasons, there has been no confidence lost with this secondary unit. Despite the confusion at the end of the Panthers’ game, the L.O.B. is as confident as they’ve ever been that they are the best secondary in the league.

“It’s no problem with being concerned and things like that, but if all is lost for them, they’re probably the only ones giving up faith,” said Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. “The guys in this building feel the same way as they always have.”

Sherman said the Seahawks are better than people give them credit for. Out of the six games Seattle has played this season, it has been in winning position in every single one. Sherman cautions people not to doubt that the Seahawks are every bit as good as past seasons.

“I think sometimes these moments kind of help you improve as a team, and I think we appreciate that,” Sherman said. “We appreciate how tough it is this year. We’re in a lot of these games. It’d be a different story if we were getting blown out by 40 points every week, and there’s no way to fix it. But there’s one mistake, one play here or there that guys just need to clean up or correct, and we’re right on it.”

San Francisco might be just the opponent Seattle needs to get back on track. The Hawks have beaten the Niners in five of their last six meetings, including each of the last three. Last season, the Seahawks played the 49ers twice in a three-week stretch. In both games, the Seahawks’ defense dominated. They limited their rival to a combined 10 points, winning 19-3 and 17-7.

Earl combined for 15 tackles in those two games. He has 55 total tackles and one career interception in 11 meetings with San Francisco. That pick came in a 29-3 win in 2013 at CenturyLink Field. Seattle has beaten the Niners on the road just once since Earl joined the team in 2010—a win that came last year.

But even more important than the history between the two rivals, the Seahawks are looking for a win for the here and now. The two-time defending NFC champions are in need of a turnaround, and Carroll is anxious to see how his team will handle the adversity that has disrupted the start of their season.

“This is adversity,” Carroll said. “This is what that it is, and we’ll see how that goes. It’s not about what happened, it’s about what you do with it.”

Kickoff is set for 5:25 p.m. PT, and the game will be broadcast on CBS and the NFL Network.

RELATED LINKS

• Seahawks not worried; Earl Thomas says ‘we’re going to outlast this’ (ESPN, Oct. 20, 2015)
• Earl Thomas’ take on 2-4 Seahawks: ‘We are going to outlast this’ (The News Tribune, Oct. 20, 2015)
• Earl Thomas on collapse vs. Carolina: ‘We are going to outlast this’ (Seattle Times, Oct. 19, 2015)