Listless Rams fall to 49ers in season opener in Australia

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is tackled by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Renardo Green, left, and safety Marques Sigle during the first half of their season opener on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour)

MELBOURNE, Australia — Jet snag.

Whether it was the Rams’ travel plans – the much-discussed decision to arrive in Melbourne the day before the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia – or Coach Sean McVay’s insistence to not play his starters during the preseason, the Super Bowl favorites didn’t appear up to snuff, nor on a victorious wavelength in their season opener.

“I don’t believe that that’s why we didn’t play well enough,” McVay said when asked, in the aftermath, if he believed they made the right decision with their travel strategy.

There were snags, first-game blunders Down Under to grapple with as the Rams attempted to start their season on a high on Friday (Thursday night PT) at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Instead, in a 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in front of a sellout crowd of 100,021, the Rams will be forced to reassess and regroup with 10 days until their Week 2 matchup against the New York Giants on Sept. 21.

“I look at nobody but myself,” McVay said. “I have to do a much better job.”

The Rams turned the ball over three times and were outgained by nearly 100 yards (379-288).

Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who missed much of training camp and the preseason with knee ailments, was close to non-existent in his Rams’ debut.

Not one tackle. Just one pressure.

When asked if Garrett was 100% healthy, McVay said that “to his knowledge,” the edge rusher was.

Garrett, who spoke at the podium after McVay, admitted postgame that he was in pain, and called his effort the “worst version” of himself. He declined to further discuss his injury when asked if the pain got worse during the game, but he said his goal for Week 2 is to “get healthy.”

“I’ve got to be better,” Garrett said. “I’ve got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be, and (have) shown that I’ve been before.”

Offensively, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford never really looked comfortable. The reigning league MVP completed just 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards with one interception.

In the first half, Stafford was 4 for 11 for 65 yards – much of that coming on a 45-yard first-quarter completion to wide receiver Puka Nacua (four catches, 69 yards). Later in the drive, at the start of the second quarter, running back Kyren Williams punched the ball in from 5 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead.

“We didn’t play well enough,” said Stafford, whose team was held under 10 points for just the second time in his past 85 starts. “Obviously, (we) never got into a rhythm. Only had probably two good drives, to be honest with you, the entire day.”

Other than Williams’ touchdown run, the 49ers controlled both phases of the game. The Rams converted just one of their five third-down attempts in the first half and finished the game 2 for 9 on third down and 1 for 3 on fourth down. The 49ers went 7 for 12 on third downs and rolled up 174 yards on the ground.

It wasn’t pretty early, on both ends.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy – whom the Rams’ pass rush flustered during the first half – misread the defense, instead lofting a pass over the middle of the field into the arms of Rams safety Quentin Lake for an interception.

That was the Rams’ only chance to extend to a two-score lead and create some breathing room before halftime.

On the following drive, however, early in the second quarter, Stafford tried to find Nacua for a deep ball of his own on a flag route – instead overthrowing the ball for an interception courtesy of 49ers cornerback Renardo Green.

San Francisco took advantage, driving 86 yards and striking for a 39-yard touchdown pass from Purdy – who was up against a Desjuan Johnson and Braden Fiske second-string pass rush – to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter to take a 10-7 lead.

Purdy finished 25 of 34 for 205 passing yards with three touchdown passes and one interception and extended a second-half touchdown drive with an 18-yard scramble for a first down.

It was the errors and lapses in judgment that sent the Rams tumbling to a lopsided loss to begin a season in which they are the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl. They fell behind by two scores early in the second half. A 45-yard kick return from veteran wideout Deebo Samuel sparked a drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown catch by fellow veteran Mike Evans over new Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson moments later.

“We got outplayed,” McVay said.

Trailing 17-7, the Rams did fight back. On the next drive, Stafford completed five passes during a 7-plus-minute drive. Nacua was ruled down at the 1-yard line following a catch, and McVay called for a QB sneak on fourth down.

Stafford burrowed his way through his offensive line, hoping to record his first rushing touchdown since 2022.

The 49ers’ defensive front kept Stafford from extending across the goal line, and after a review for confirmation, the Rams handed the ball to their NFC West rivals with a turnover on downs with 3:41 left in the third quarter.

“I just got to find a way to get it in,” Stafford said, adding that the sneak was a called play.

Purdy then marched his team 99 yards on 11 plays, capping the drive by scrambling away from pressure to his right to fire a 15-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel for a 24-7 lead.

Blowout losses weren’t in the Rams’ DNA a season ago – they hadn’t lost a game by more than seven points since November 2024.

Now, one game in with an off-kilter outing in Melbourne – an international nightmare of a performance in Week 1 – it’s already in their bloodstream.

“We’re going to find out what we’re about,” McVay said. “And I’m excited to be able to lean in.”