The Rams’ 2026 season opens with a twist that goes well beyond the usual division rivalry. Their Week 1 meeting with the 49ers will be played in Melbourne, Australia, making it the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia and giving this matchup a very different backdrop than the one fans are used to seeing at SoFi Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 5:35 p.m. PT on September 10 in the United States, which translates to 10:35 a.m. local time on September 11 in Melbourne.
The game will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, not SoFi, and it marks another step in the league’s partnership with Netflix. To watch it, fans will need an active Netflix subscription, which is included in all plans.
The game will also air locally on CBS LA.
There will be radio options as well, with coverage on Sirius XM and local radio on ESPNLA 710.
This trip also comes with a major contrast in travel strategy. The 49ers departed for Australia on Wednesday, giving themselves a full week to settle in, handle the time change and practice locally. The Rams, by comparison, won’t leave until next Wednesday and are scheduled to arrive the day before the game.
That difference is no accident. The 49ers are betting that early arrival gives them an edge, while the Rams are counting on staying on their normal sleep schedule as long as possible before making the long flight.
Los Angeles used a similar plan last year when it traveled to London to face the Jaguars, and that game turned into one of its most complete performances of the season, a 35-7 win.
The Rams have been strong overseas under Sean McVay. They are 3-0 in international games during his tenure, outscoring opponents 92-17. That stretch includes a 24-10 win over the Bengals in London in 2019 and a 33-0 victory over the Cardinals in 2017.
The setting is new, but the opponent is very familiar. Since the Rams returned to Los Angeles, their rivalry with the 49ers has only sharpened.
McVay is 8-11 against Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco since 2017, though that record includes the Rams’ win in the 2021 NFC Championship Game. Los Angeles has also taken four of the last five meetings.
The lone loss in that stretch came in the first matchup last season, when the Rams dropped an overtime game. They answered in Week 10 by storming out to a 21-0 lead and rolling to a 42-26 win.
Both teams enter 2026 with big expectations, and a Week 1 victory in Melbourne would give one of them an immediate edge in the race to set the tone for the season.
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