The Los Angeles Rams only landed in Australia on Thursday morning, and they won’t be sticking around long either – not that they would want to anyway.
The Super Bowl favourites have been upset in their season-opener against San Francisco, with the 49ers running away 27-7 winners in Friday’s historic game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Watch an average 6 games per week and every game of the NFL Postseason, LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
THE RAMS: Australia’s NFL team is the Super Bowl favourite. But they’re ignoring the elephant in the room
EVERY NFL TEAM RANKED: All 32 clubs placed in tiers ahead of 2026-27 season
NEW STAR DOWN UNDER: How US journo became an Aussie ‘novelty’… and AFL gun’s act that left him ‘starstruck’
‘IF YOU ASK ONE F***ING QUESTION ABOUT HAYNE…’: How wild NFL ride ended with rival’s ‘worst’ act
This was supposed to be a chance for the Rams, who traded for superstar defensive end Myles Garrett in the offseason, to make a statement against their division rivals.
Instead, the injury-ravaged 49ers proved they should not be discounted in an ultra-competitive NFC West which also includes reigning Super Bowl champions Seattle.
San Francisco was hit with a spate of injuries over the summer, and that number only increased on Friday, with standout rookie receiver DeZhaun Stribling and tight end Jake Tonges carted off.
Despite the setbacks, the 49ers completely outclassed the Rams with Brock Purdy putting on a clinic as he completed 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns with one pick.
Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, on the other hand, looked uncharacteristically out of sync with the rest of his receiving corps as Puka Nacua and Davante Adams were held to 100 yards.
Rams mock lack of sleep in trip to Aus! | 00:41
Elsewhere, Los Angeles’ vaunted defensive line was kept incredibly quiet with the 49ers effectively using short passes and chipping Garrett to keep the Rams’ superstar addition from making an impact.
Rams coach Sean McVay was vocal in defending his team’s contentious in-and-out travel plan, telling reporters during the team’s only pre-game media opportunity on Thursday that they felt “great”.
Both McVay and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan seemed to understand that regardless of all the thought and planning that had gone into their respective strategies, the result would be the determining factor in who came off looking best.
JoBros rock MCG with Aussie cult classic | 01:44
San Francisco, who arrived in Australia one week ago, looked the far more settled team for the majority of Friday’s game and didn’t take long to find their rhythm on offence.
One of the splashiest moves the 49ers made in the offseason was signing six-time Pro Bowler Mike Evans on a three-year contract worth $42.4 million, and based on the opening few drives of Friday’s game he will be worth every cent.
Evans was a reliable chains mover for Brock Purdy early, with the 49ers quarterback finding his new teammate three times for third-down catches in the first five minutes.
It didn’t result in a touchdown, with Purdy missing DeMarcus Robinson on third down in the red zone, but Eddy Pineiro stepped up to kick through the field goal for the first points in NFL history in Australia.
Aus & USA anthems performed at MCG | 00:58
The Rams, who had been widely questioned for their rapid in-and-out travel approach, looked like they may have been feeling the effects of the jet lag based on their slightly sluggish start to the game on offence.
The defence largely looked as advertised though, with Trent McDuffie producing a few key plays on San Francisco’s scoring drive to limit any more points behind scored.
Still, reaction post-match was fierce as many took aim at the Rams, accusing them of underestimating the toll of the travel for the historic occasion.
“If you asked 100 Australians if flying across the Pacific Ocean the day before an NFL game was a good idea, there’d be 99 who would say no and one who didn’t own a passport,” Fox League’s Warren Smith quipped.
Eventually the Rams got their opening first down with four minutes left in the quarter, but a near-fumble from Kyren Williams brought the drive undone.
L.A.’s usually potent passing game just didn’t seem to be in sync, with Stafford struggling to get on the same page with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
That wasn’t the case right at the end of the first quarter though as Stafford found Nacua for a 41-yard gain, setting the Rams up to punch it in for the opening touchdown of the game through Williams.
The Rams defence then came up with the first takeaway of the game as Quentin Lake picked off Purdy, with the L.A. players taunting the 49ers’ different travel strategy by pretending to sleep in the end zone.
McVay: ‘This is a humbling day for us’ | 01:07
But San Francisco got one back as Renardo Green intercepted Stafford soon after, before Purdy found Robinson deep on a 39-yard pass to score the 49ers’ first touchdown of the game.
Robinson, a nine-year veteran, had largely become a forgotten piece of the 49ers offence given the emergence of rookie De’Zhaun Stribling over the summer in training camp and pre-season.
But a potentially serious injury to Stribling in Friday’s game could see Robinson step into a more prominent role given the 49ers are already without third-year receiver Ricky Pearsall for the season.
Robinson was involved again shortly after the second half got underway as Purdy found Evans for his first touchdown as a 49er, with a 45-yard kickoff return from Deebo Samuel and two big runs from Christian McCaffrey putting San Francisco in strong field position.
The 49ers defence later came up with a massive stop as Keion White and Dre Greenlaw combined to stuff the Stafford sneak on the one-yard line before Purdy linked with Samuel for another touchdown to all but put the result beyond doubt halfway through the fourth quarter.
Re-live Rams vs 49ers at the MCG in our blog below!