The 49ers open their season on Thursday Night Football in Australia, and the first question hanging over this matchup is simple: can San Francisco spring the Week 1 upset?
Oddsmakers don’t think so. FanDuel has the Rams as 3.5-point favorites on a neutral field, with the total sitting at 48.5 points. And while the 49ers are getting key names back, this still feels like a game where the trench battle could decide everything.
Brock Purdy is set up for a strong start
Purdy’s 2024 season was a mixed bag, but the overall production was still steady. He threw for 2,167 yards with 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he completed a career-best 69.4 percent of his passes. The bigger issue was the turnovers, which reached double digits for the third straight year even though he played in only nine games.
This time around, he enters Week 1 with plenty of support around him. George Kittle and Nick Bosa are both expected to play, and Purdy also has Mike Evans fully healthy as a new target. Reports throughout the offseason have painted Purdy as sharp, and with San Francisco carrying continuity on offense, there’s a real chance that carries into the opener.
The Rams defense is loaded, but Kyle Shanahan should still lean on Purdy to make plays early. If the 49ers can give him even a workable run game, he has the pieces to get off to a quality start.
San Francisco could have trouble stopping the run
The bigger concern for the 49ers may be on the other side of the ball. In the past week, they lost Sam Okuayinonu and Alfred Collins, which leaves a defense that already had questions heading into the season with even less margin for error.
Bosa is back, though likely on a pitch count, and Osa Odighizuwa should help, but this still looks like a rough opening assignment against the Rams’ ground game. Los Angeles has Kyren Williams and Blake Corum ready to form a strong one-two punch, and the Rams bring continuity up front on the offensive line.
They also like to lean into heavier personnel, which only adds to the concern for San Francisco in Week 1.
Rams take the opener
This one came down to the spread more than the winner. The Rams may be favored by only 3.5, but the bigger point is that they look cleaner in the areas that matter most right now.
The 49ers have questions in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and there are still concerns in the secondary as well. Purdy should play well enough to keep San Francisco in it, but the run defense looks vulnerable, and the 49ers’ own rushing attack was inefficient a year ago.
They also didn’t make upgrades to the offensive line, and now they get one of the league’s best defensive fronts right out of the gate. That’s a tough way to start the season, especially against Matthew Stafford and a Rams team that looks ready for Week 1.
In Other News...
Brock Purdy Hit Could Bring NFL Fallout After 49ers Opener
Brock Purdys season-opening performance in Melbourne was memorable for more than just the box score, because one of the biggest moments came when the 49ers quarterback took a hit from Rams defensive tackle Tyler Davis that drew a roughing-the-passer flag. Purdy finished the game 25 of 34 for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, but the contact he absorbed is the kind of play that tends to linger after the final whistle once the league reviews it.
The NFLs guidelines leave room for fines on penalties like that, and there is already speculation that the collision may have crossed into helmet-to-helmet territory, which could bring added discipline. For San Francisco, the immediate concern is the health of its quarterback and the protection he gets going forward, while the larger issue is whether the league decides the hit in Melbourne was simply a penalty on the field or something more costly when the office in New York takes a closer look. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Hit On Brock Purdy Could Bring NFL Punishment
Brock Purdy still delivered a productive outing in Melbourne, but one of the biggest moments in the 49ers game came on a hit from Rams defensive tackle Tyler Davis that drew a roughing-the-passer flag and raised the possibility of a helmet-to-helmet call. The play stood out not just because of the contact itself, but because it landed on a San Francisco quarterback who kept the offense moving anyway, finishing 25 of 34 for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
For the NFL, the question now is whether the play turns into more than a penalty on the field. League discipline can follow this kind of hit if officials and review determine it crossed the line, though it remains to be seen whether fines will actually come down. For the 49ers, the larger concern is the same one every team has in moments like this: protecting Purdy while keeping him upright enough to do what he did in Melbourne. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Bosa's 49ers Return Took A Strange Turn After The Rams Win
Nick Bosas return in the 49ers season opener against the Rams was one of the biggest on-field positives of the night. Coming back from a torn ACL, he made his presence felt with four tackles, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit, a reminder of how much San Francisco missed him when he was out. For a player whose impact is usually measured in pressure and disruption, simply getting through that first game healthy mattered as much as the stat line.
The strange part came afterward, when a social media post began circulating with a quote falsely attributed to Bosa about honoring Charlie Kirk, a statement he never made. It was the latest example of how quickly fake quotes can spread around NFL players, following similar fabrications that have previously targeted George Kittle and C.J. Stroud. For the 49ers, it turned a straightforward comeback story into an unnecessary off-field distraction. [Read more 🡒]