Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes as the San Francisco 49ers dominated the super-team Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in the first ever NFL regular-season game in Australia.
Purdy passed for 205 yards and scores to Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel in front of 100,021 fans at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, the seventh-largest regular season crowd in NFL history.
The Rams had entered the 2026 NFL season widely tipped as Super Bowl frontrunners after their blockbuster trade for Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett and the return of Aaron Donald from retirement. Instead, it would be Purdy and Kyle Shanahan to deliver a stark reminder of a fiercely competitive NFC West division.
Australia's sporting capital revelled in its first real taste of American football - and in a commanding win by the 49ers, who had already won many Aussies' affection by traveling to Melbourne a week earlier than the Rams, who only landed 28 hours before kickoff on Thursday morning.
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A party atmosphere prevailed even with a Friday morning kickoff necessary to hit the lucrative primetime television audiences in the US. The fans got another memorable chapter in this NFC West rivalry as the 49ers blasted the preseason Super Bowl favourites Rams with superior play on both sides of the ball.
Kyren Williams scored the NFL's first Australian touchdown on a five-yard rush to begin the second quarter, but the Rams were a disaster Down Under. Los Angeles hadn't lost by more than seven points since November 2024.
While Purdy's offense managed enough big plays to win, the San Francisco defense frustrated NFL MVP Matthew Stafford into a 15-of-25 performance for just 155 yards. The Niners held the NFL's best offense last season to one score, even stopping Stafford on a fourth-down quarterback sneak from the San Francisco one in the third quarter.
"They outplayed us in every facet," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "I didn't do nearly a good enough job. This was a humbling day for us. This will only define us if we allow it.
"Sometimes sports can humble you, and today was one of those days. I make no excuses. Whether you want to say it was about travel, whatever, we just weren't good enough in that window."
Garrett was practically a non-factor in his Rams debut after missing much of training camp with aches, recording zero tackles. Donald had not made the trip to Australia as he continues to work his way back into football shape following his decision to come out of retirement.
Much of the pregame talk for this trip centered around the teams' starkly differing methods of preparation: The 49ers ingratiated themselves to the local fans as their body clocks adjusted, while the Rams stayed home until less than two days before kickoff, keeping their body clocks on California time.
Both teams started with understandable sluggishness for a 10:35am kickoff, but Williams' touchdown run finally got the crowd cheering. The quarterbacks then traded interceptions before Purdy shook off a shaky start and found former Rams receiver Robinson on a 39-yard post route.
San Francisco surged out of half-time, with Samuel's 45-yard kickoff return leading to Evans' touchdown catch over new Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson.
The Rams drove deep into the red zone, but after Puka Nacua was ruled down inches outside the goal line, the 49ers stuffed Stafford.
Garrett was critical of his own performance on a disappointing Rams debut that saw him finish tackle-less in Australia.
He acknowledged after the game the knee injury that saw him miss much of training camp was more restrictive than perhaps first thought.
"This was the worst version of myself that I've put out there, and I've got to be better," Garrett said at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"I've got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I've shown that I've been before.
"I wasn't the player that I wanted to be, and I feel like I wasn't the player I've been before when I've stepped onto that field. I've got to do what I can to get back to that."
Garrett was traded to the Rams by the Cleveland Browns in the summer, featuring as part of a defensive revamp that also included the arrival of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.
"We knew we were going to face some adversity this season," Garrett said. "It's game one. We've got to find if we are as resilient as we're saying."
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