After a week Down Under, the San Francisco 49ers officially kicked off the 2026 regular season on Friday, defeating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the NFL’s first-ever regular season game played in Australia.<\/p>\n
The Week 1 matchup marked another chapter in the NFC West rivalry and the fourth time the 49ers and Rams have met in a season opener. With the victory, San Francisco starts the year 1-0 and picks up an early win over a division opponent.<\/p>\n
Here are the top takeaways from the 49ers Week 1 win over the Rams:<\/p>\n
Mike Evans Finds the End Zone in 49ers Debut<\/p>\n
WR Mike Evans<\/a> made an immediate impact in his first regular season game in red and gold, emerging as one of QB Brock Purdy<\/a>‘s go-to targets in the 49ers season opener.<\/p>\n After hauling in five receptions for 47 yards in the first half, Evans added a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter. Purdy connected with the veteran wideout for a two-yard touchdown, marking Evans’ first touchdown as a member of the 49ers and extended San Francisco’s lead to 17-7.<\/p>\n Evans finished his 49ers debut with six receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown on seven targets.<\/p>\n “Mike’s been great,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Today was my first time doing it with him… It was nice to be able to have a type of receiver to throw a fade to like that at Red Zone.”<\/p>\n “Brock threw a great ball,” Evans said on his touchdown. “We actually repped that a lot the last couple of weeks, so I was happy it paid off.”<\/p>\n Purdy Spreads the Ball Around in Three-Touchdown Performance<\/p>\n Purdy opened his 2026 campaign by finding three different receivers for touchdowns in the 49ers win.<\/p>\n San Francisco’s first trip to the end zone came late in the second quarter when Purdy found WR Demarcus Robinson<\/a> for a 39-yard touchdown. The score capped a nine-play, 86-yard drive, and sent the 49ers into halftime with a 10-7 lead.<\/p>\n Following his two-yard scoring connection with Evans in the third quarter, Purdy added his third touchdown on a 99-yard drive. Purdy threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to WR\u00a0Deebo Samuel Sr.<\/a> which extended the lead to 24-7.<\/p>\n Purdy finished the night 25-of-34 for 205 yards and three touchdowns<\/p>\n 49ers Defense Stands Tall in Australia<\/p>\n San Francisco’s defense delivered, holding Los Angeles to just seven points and kept the Rams off the scoreboard through the last three quarters.<\/p>\n One of the game’s biggest stands came late in the third quarter. The Rams made their way to fourth-and-goal from the 1. QB Matthew Stafford tried to run it in himself, but the 49ers defensive front held its ground, with DL Osa Odighizuwa<\/a> credited with the stop to force a turnover on downs.<\/p>\n LB Fred Warner<\/a> helped lead the defensive effort in his return to regular-season action after missing time in 2025 due to an ankle injury. Early in the fourth quarter, Warner forced Rams TE Tyler Higbee to fumble, and DL Keion White<\/a> recovered the ball. The fumble led to a 56-yard field goal from K Eddy Pi\u00f1eiro<\/a> that pushed San Francisco’s lead to 27-7.<\/p>\n Warner’s return to the field also came with a place in the 49ers record books. He entered Week 1 needing two tackles to tie Pro Football Hall of Fame LB Patrick Willis’ franchise record of 950 career tackles. With his performance against the Rams (5 solo, 6 assists, and 11 combined), Warner passed Willis to become the 49ers all-time leader in career tackles.<\/p>\n Shanahan reflected on Warner’s impact following the win.<\/p>\n “Fred means everything to me,” Shanahan said. “I don’t want to coach very much when Fred’s not around… He is one of the most impressive people I’ve been around.”<\/p>\n McCaffrey and Black Power 49ers Ground Game<\/p>\n The 49ers leaned on a one-two punch of RB Christian McCaffrey<\/a> and rookie RB Kaelon Black<\/a> to keep the offense moving throughout the game.<\/p>\n McCaffrey found his stride coming out of halftime, putting together two consecutive runs of 14 and 16 yards in the opening possession. Those gains helped set up Evans’ touchdown.<\/p>\n Black also saw a lot of action behind McCaffrey in his NFL regular season debut. The rookie carried the ball\u00a014 times for 65 yards, while McCaffrey finished with\u00a068 yards on 10 carries.<\/p>\n San Francisco finished with 174 rushing yards.<\/p>\n Green Comes Up With First Takeaway of the Season<\/p>\n