The 49ers didn’t just beat the Rams in Melbourne. They flattened the preseason darling status right out of them.
In front of 100,021 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, San Francisco rolled to a 27-7 win that felt even more lopsided than the score. The Rams arrived with plenty of hype and a revamped defense, but for 60 minutes on Friday - or Thursday in the U.S. - they looked nothing like the runaway Super Bowl favorite label that had followed them into Week 1.
Start with the number that defined the tone up front: zero. That’s how many times the Rams sacked Brock Purdy.
For all the buzz around their upgraded pass rush and the addition of future Hall of Fame edge rusher Myles Garrett, Los Angeles never truly got Purdy on the ropes. Garrett didn’t register a tackle or a sack in his Rams debut, and Trent Williams did his part to keep him quiet.
On the broadcast, Netflix reporter Tom Pelissero said Garrett, who had been dealing with a knee injury through much of training camp, looked “gassed” when he came out of the game. Nate Atkins of The Athletic reported Garrett saying he wasn’t healthy and, “This was the worst version of myself.”
The rest of the Rams’ defensive front - Byron Young, Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske - couldn’t finish the job either. Purdy took advantage, going 25-for-34 for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Matthew Stafford never found the same kind of rhythm. He completed only seven passes in the first half, and his day started with a near-miss that set the tone: on the game’s first snap, he almost threw a pick to Fred Warner. Stafford finished 15-of-25 for 155 yards and one interception, and for the first time since the end of the 2024 season, he didn’t throw a touchdown pass in a regular-season game.
The Rams did have some success on the ground early, but San Francisco tightened the screws after halftime and forced Stafford into a game that never really opened up. McVay eventually pulled him in the final minutes, closing the book on a rough outing for the 18th-year veteran.
San Francisco’s backfield also told a story of its own. Rookie running back Kaelon Black got 14 carries in his debut, four more than Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey finished with 10 carries for 68 yards, and the 49ers followed through on the plan to trim his workload after a 413-touch season.
Whether Black and McCaffrey keep sharing the load that way remains to be seen. They may also have been easing McCaffrey after he missed time during the preseason with tightness.
Either way, the approach worked. McCaffrey flashed the burst that had been missing from his runs in 2025, averaging 6.8 yards per carry, and the 49ers posted a 56.7% success rate on the ground, per Ben Solak.
Third down was another separator. The Rams converted only one third down, and they also went 0-for-2 on fourth down while Stafford was still in the game. San Francisco’s defense came up with the stops when it mattered, including Renardo Green’s interception of Stafford on third-and-10 and a stop of Puka Nacua and Stafford before they reached the goal line.
Meanwhile, the 49ers kept drives alive. They converted seven of 12 third downs and put together long possessions, including a 99-yard march to open the fourth quarter that helped swing the game firmly their way.
And then there’s the number that stings the most for Los Angeles: seven. That was all the Rams could manage against the 49ers defense. The NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense in 2025 produced just one touchdown, missed chances at the turnovers and the goal line, and still walked away with only seven points.
Per an NFL researcher, it was the fewest points the Rams have scored in a game Stafford has started, and the first time since November 2024, against the Eagles, that they lost by more than seven points.
It’s only Week 1, and there’s plenty of season left for the Rams to become the team people expected. But this was a harsh opening act, and one they’ll need to shake off quickly before Week 2 against the Giants.
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Rams Fans Face An Unusual Week 1 Problem Against The 49ers
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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 🡒]