The 49ers are getting close to their Week 1 trip to Australia to face the Los Angeles Rams, and the opener already comes with a few real lineup puzzles.
San Francisco enters as a 2.5-point underdog, with the total sitting at 48.5 points, a number that points to one of the more offense-friendly games on the Week 1 slate. The 49ers do have plenty of familiar star power back, and they also added key pieces this offseason. Wide receiver Mike Evans is set for Week 1 after a minor training camp injury, but there are still some major questions hanging over the roster.
The biggest one might be on the defensive line, especially after starting defensive lineman Alfred Collins tore his patellar tendon and is out for the year.
Even before Collins went down, this group had concerns attached to it. Without Nick Bosa, the 49ers finished 32nd in sacks last season and were uneven against the run, landing in the bottom half of the league in yards per carry allowed. Bosa’s return should help, and the addition of Osa Odighizuwa gives the pass rush another boost, but depth remains a major issue.
San Francisco will also be without Sam Okuayinonu, who broke his foot and is expected to miss substantial time. Mykel Williams is still on the Physically Unable to Perform list after his ACL tear last year, and Romello Height is also dealing with a minor injury heading into Week 1.
Collins and C.J. West were both inconsistent against the run in the preseason, which adds another layer of concern for a unit already trying to hold up against what the source describes as arguably the best team in football.
The backfield is another spot worth watching. The 49ers have made clear they want to preserve Christian McCaffrey this season, and that approach already showed up in training camp when he was held out because of soreness. The question now is whether that same plan carries into game action.
McCaffrey remains the centerpiece of the offense, but San Francisco has also started to spend draft capital at running back and appears to like two younger options behind him. Kaelon Black drew plenty of praise after a strong training camp and preseason, and Jordan James is now back healthy. Against the Rams, the question is how much of the workload gets shared, if any of it does.
Then there’s left guard, where the 49ers appear headed toward a rotation rather than a clean answer. The team did not make a major offseason investment at the spot, and none of the candidates has looked like a clear-cut starter through the preseason.
Carver Willis looks positioned to get snaps, but the most likely outcome seems to be a rotating cast as San Francisco tries to sort out its best option. That kind of uncertainty is far from ideal, and it could wind up being the biggest thing holding the offense back.
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Rams Fans Face An Unusual Week 1 Problem Against The 49ers
Rams fans heading into Week 1 have a little more than the usual trip planning to figure out before facing the 49ers. The 2026 season opener is set for Thursday Night Football in Melbourne, Australia, and the game will stream exclusively on Netflix, giving the matchup a very different feel from the standard prime-time NFL telecast.
For Netflix, it is the first time the service will carry a Thursday Night Football game outside of Christmas Day after its renewed deal with the league. Pregame coverage is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, with Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly on the broadcast team, so anyone hoping to catch San Francisco and Los Angeles in the opener will need to find the app before they find the couch. [Read more 🡒]