MELBOURNE, Australia – Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes, and San Francisco 49ers defense shut down Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams in a 27-7 victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the season opener.
The 49ers played their first regular season game on the continent – Friday morning local time and Thursday night in the US – to the goal line and an 11-play, 99-yard drive capped by Purdy’s 15-yard touchdown to Debo Samuels early in the fourth quarter. San Francisco scored the game’s final 24 points.
The Rams, who arrived in Melbourne 28 hours before kick-off (compared to the 49ers arriving a week earlier) held a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Clear preseason Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles gained just 290 yards and two turnovers.
How did the 49ers’ defense slow down the Rams’ star-studded offense?
The defensive line was pushed early, but the line got tougher as the game went on, eventually ending up with a goal line drive in the third quarter that allowed the Rams to rally for the long drive home. Fred Warner made plays all day, and under new coordinator Raheem Morris, a rejuvenated secondary made some timely contributions, from a Renardo Green interception to a Jack Jones pass breakup. Morris has done a good job of keeping the Rams offense off balance, and Stafford hasn’t found a consistent secondary target outside of Pukka Naqua.
There’s still work to be done — the 49ers didn’t have a sack, as Nick Bosa is still shaking off the cobwebs, and rookie Romelo Height had trouble getting off blocks — but that’s OK, this was a tough test against what many thought was the league’s best team. The Niners next have home games against the lowly Dolphins and Cardinals, and 2025 first-round pick Michael Williams is back for Week 5. Vic Tafur, 49ers beat writer
The Rams fell flat… but why?
After that, things didn’t quite work out the way they did last year or the way they expected this year for the Rams, with Garrett, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson joining the defense. Among the new additions, only McDuffie stood out, making outstanding plays in coverage and run defense.
Garrett was held without a sack, and Watson was hit hard a few times, including a touchdown on Mike Evans. Some elements of this team that were strong last year have also deteriorated, from the pass defense to the tight ends to Davante Adams to the run defense and the overall pass rush.
Whether the frustration was related to the decision to travel a day earlier than the game or to hold the kickoffs off schedule is up for debate. My feeling is that it was more the latter, since it appears with the offense every season, but it is also difficult to feel that this team took this game seriously with how Sean McVay prepared the trip. It often felt more like a chore against the Rams than an exciting opportunity. – Nate Atkins, Rams beat writer
Was this a one-off or a sign of broader concerns for the Rams?
My feeling is that this will be a one time thing. This team looked nothing like last season and if that’s going to happen in a playoff, Week 1 will be against a hated opponent around the world. I think the Rams sacrificed style in this game to avoid putting their body clock forward, so they should come back strong against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football.”
It should start with a few surprising shifts: Garrett needs to make an impact and doesn’t look like someone who will kick off the rust after weeks of little practice. The pass rush should pick up collectively, which makes it a good time for Aaron Donald to return considering how lacking the interior rush has been against the 49ers. Stafford and Adams need to find a better connection than Adams who put up three catches for 26 yards. And instead of producing four catches for 31 yards, the Rams need to get these tight ends more involved in the game plan. – Atkins
Do the 49ers finally have a RB they trust besides CMC?
The 49ers said they have decided to give Christian McCaffrey more breaks this offseason. Turns out they weren’t lying. McCaffrey’s understudy, third-round pick Kellon Black, entered the game on the 49ers’ fifth offensive snap, then was in an offensive tackle to start San Francisco’s second offensive series. Black, hitting the line of scrimmage with speed and power, has more carries than McCaffrey, ending up with XX for XX yards to McCaffrey’s XX for XX yards.
McCaffrey’s usage was far from 2025, when he carried the team through the first half of the season and finished with 413 touchdowns, the most by any NFL player since 2014. Brian Robinson Jr., who holds the most backups, had nine in 2025. Black’s ninth carry came late in the third quarter, a 14-yard first-down scamper. – Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
What was the Australian experience like?
The 49ers admitted it took some time to adjust to the 17-hour time difference — five days, according to coach Kyle Shanahan. But Shanahan and his players had a strong feeling about the game in Melbourne
And it didn’t hurt that they got an extra boost from the crowd. This was a reliable source of energy on the road for the 49ersEspecially when they visit the Rams in Los Angeles. The crowd at Melbourne Cricket Ground certainly had mixed loyalties. All 32 NFL teams are represented by fan jerseys, in fact. But the majority was in favor of the 49ers, something that could be heard early as a warm-up and seen by the crowd’s red color. – Barrows