49ers get right, Rams get shot of resilience in NFL’s Australia game

MELBOURNE, Australia — Let’s dispense with the naive notion that the NFL season isn’t all about the Los Angeles Rams trying to win this season’s Super Bowl on their home field.

Surely, other storylines will stir interest as the league dominates the national consciousness yet again in the buildup to Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. But make no mistake: The Rams are the story.

They set the expectation by assembling a supposedly Avengers-like defense after finishing a game short of reaching last season’s Super Bowl — but the star-powered group opened the season poorly Friday in a 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 49ers raced to a great start in a season opener that also marked the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia. They produced 379 yards total offense against a Rams defense featuring superstar edge rusher Myles Garrett, while limiting the Rams to 290.

In his Rams debut, Garrett, who started despite experiencing ongoing knee and lower leg issues, admittedly wasn’t in his typical superhero form. And he wasn’t alone.

“We have to do more,” said Garrett, a two-time Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year while with his former team, the Cleveland Browns.

“There’s a lot more on this team that can be done. And it starts with us as leaders.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, last season’s Associated Press NFL MVP, was in lockstep with his new teammate.

“We didn’t play well enough, obviously,” said Stafford, who completed only 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards and an interception. “Never got into a rhythm. Only had probably two good drives, honest with you, the entire day. Not enough good stuff on offense.

“We didn’t do the things that we are accustomed to doing. That’s just communicating, operating, being on the same page. Too many times, we were on different pages. That starts with me. I’m the guy that’s communicating all that stuff. I gotta make sure I do a better job, make sure we’re all on the same page and we can rock and roll out there.”

A crowd of 100,021 (the game sold out in fewer than 30 minutes) watched San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy throw two of his three touchdown passes in the second half as the 49ers pulled away and continued to dominate their NFC West division rivals on the road.

Although the teams played in Australia, the Rams were designated as the home team. In their last eight games on the Rams’ home field, the 49ers are 7-1.

The 49ers’ smashing kickoff performance provided much-needed good news for a franchise that experienced a litany of problems during a tumultuous offseason on and off the field. The list includes:

• Principal owner Jed York being arrested in Ohio during a prostitution sting;
• Head coach Kyle Shanahan generating headlines after he took responsibility for a car crash that injured him earlier in the summer;
• Former star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk utilizing social media to torch the team in his ongoing battle with it;
• Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall suffering a complex knee injury that will cost him the entire season;
• And significant defensive line attrition.

At least for one game, it was all in the 49ers’ rearview mirror.

“We have had a lot of really good wins together,” Shanahan said. “This was a special experience, just thinking about the offseason, the unknowns. A place none of us has ever been before.”

Despite having suffered key losses along the defensive line, the 49ers’ defense shined Down Under.

Leading 17-7 late in the third quarter, the 49ers stopped the Rams on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. San Francisco then traveled 99 yards, the final 15 coming on Purdy’s touchdown pass to wide receiver Deebo Samuel. San Francisco held a 24-7 lead with about 13 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and the Rams’ spark was all but extinguished.

“Felt like we were fighting ourselves,” Stafford said. “Not the way you wanna start.”

Of course, one game does not make a season.

The Rams have plenty of time, almost an entire season, to wind up where they want to be — playing in the Super Bowl on their home field. The first time SoFi Stadium hosted the nation’s premier sporting event, Rams head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead helped lead the team to a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in 2022.

It’s fair to note the Rams weren’t at full strength on defense in Week 1. In addition to Garrett’s limitations, future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald didn’t make the trip. The Rams are exercising caution with the three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year, who announced Aug. 30 he was coming out of retirement.

Donald remained in Los Angeles, McVay explained here, to continue working into game shape. The expectation is he will participate fully soon — and when he does, the Rams could be second to none on defense.

Garrett’s belief remains strong.

“Resilience,” he said. “We knew we were going to face some adversity during the season. Come to find out, it’s Game 1.”

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