The Los Angeles Rams came into the 2026 NFL season carrying all the weight that comes with being billed as overwhelming Super Bowl favorites. After a busy offseason that turned plenty of heads, they had a chance to back up the hype in Week 1. Instead, they walked out of Melbourne looking flat, overmatched, and suddenly chasing the rest of the NFC West.
San Francisco handled them with ease in a 49ers 27, Rams 7 result that never really felt close once the game settled in. The Rams did open with some success on the ground against a vulnerable interior, but that was about the only part of Sean McVay’s team that worked. Everything else unraveled fast.
Brock Purdy absorbed an early interception and still controlled the game, throwing touchdowns to Demarcus Robinson, Deebo Samuel, and Mike Evans. Matthew Stafford, meanwhile, never found a rhythm.
He paired a bad interception with the Purdy takeaway, then came up short on a critical 4th and goal sneak at the 1 with the Rams trailing 17-7 late in the third quarter. Not long after that, San Francisco ripped off a 99-yard touchdown drive that effectively ended any real suspense.
The headline offseason addition, Myles Garrett, was a non-factor against the 49ers’ offensive line. He finished with zero stats: no sacks, no tackles, no pressures, no QB hits. He also appeared in and out of the lineup and looked visibly gassed.
Purdy wasn’t sacked once, and the San Francisco run game kept humming. Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black shared the load and helped the 49ers pile up more than 170 rushing yards against the Rams’ defensive line. The game ended with Stetson Bennett IV taking snaps in place of Stafford.
There was also a troubling injury note for San Francisco. Rookie receiver De’Zhaun Stribling was carted off with a non-contact leg injury, and the concern is that it could be an Achilles rupture.
For the 49ers, the win puts them atop the NFC West on division record tiebreaker over the Seahawks. Seattle, the reigning Super Bowl champion, will open its first divisional game in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals.
San Francisco’s upcoming schedule also looks friendly, with the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals next before tougher matchups against the Denver Broncos and Seahawks to begin October. The Rams, on the other hand, get the New York Giants at home on Monday night in Week 2.
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Seahawks Opener Chaos Turned A Tense Win Into Something Else
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For a few tense minutes, the football game was secondary to the disruption above it, a reminder of how quickly a night at the stadium can veer off script. The fan was eventually handcuffed, and while the crowd settled back in, the incident lingered as one of the stranger moments of an opener that already had plenty of bite. [Read more 🡒]