The Los Angeles Rams have been one of the smartest organizations in the NFL. Sean McVay has lived up to his wunderkind billing time and again, Les Snead and the front office's aggression in trades and dealing draft picks has paid dividend upon dividend, and they entered the 2026 season as the clear-cut Super Bowl favorite. They'll leave Australia and Week 1, however, with an 0-1 record after getting embarrassed by the division rival San Francisco 49ers. It's also nearly impossible to not blame the team's quite foolish travel plans.
While the 49ers arrived a week early to Melbourne to help the team better acclimate their body clocks to a flight 17 hours away from the Pacific Time Zone, the Rams chose the alternative route. McVay and Co. arrived in Australia early on Wednesday evening Melbourne time, giving them just Wednesday night and Thursday night to get on the right sleep schedule and everything before playing at 10:35 a.m. local time on Friday in Australia. And they looked like a team that was clearly not adjusted.
The Rams looked nothing like themselves after risky travel plan to Australia
Everything looked completely off for the Rams in the matchup with the 49ers. Matthew Stafford, who literally took home NFL MVP honors last year, was making misfires all over the place. Stafford threw an interception, while Tyler Higbee also lost a fumble. The offensive line got torched. The skill position weapons looked a step or two off. The defense had no answers for the 49ers. It was just a poor all-around performance.
Now, it would be easy to say that this is just an overhyped Rams team. While the hype may have gotten out of hand, it is worth reminding everyone that this team was in the NFC Championship Game in a fight to the end with the eventual champion Seahawks. This isn't a team that isn't gelling or doesn't know how to win or that doesn't have enough talent. It's a team that looked like they were still on Los Angeles time.
There were countless people over recent weeks who questioned the Rams' strategy. Yes, LA got a luxury plane with reclining seats for players to be able to sleep on the flight to Australia. But anyone who's ever traveled like that — or even closer to somewhere like Europe — from the United States can tell you that it takes a bit to adjust your body clock, to get to feeling right.
That's for people like me who are going to wake up less than 48 hours after my arrival and go try to find a nice bakery and a good cup of coffee. Now amplify that even further for someone who is going to have to go out and play an NFL game, one against a likely playoff team in the 49ers no less.
It's just not reasonable to believe that the travel didn't have immediate and obvious adverse effects. The Rams tried to continue to be ahead of the game, zagging while the 49ers zigged with a more reasonable travel plan. And it came back to bite them for 60 minutes of action as the Niners completely dominated them. That doesn't mean it's the end for the Rams, but it means they have no one to blame but themselves for starting off the season on a sour note.
None of this should take away from the 49ers' performance
If this at all sounds like I'm diminishing the 49ers, that's not the case. San Francisco thoroughly dominated this game with a terrific effort on the field. Brock Purdy, outside of one interception, was in complete command. The defense held Myles Garrett without a sack or a tackle, while both Christian McCaffrey and rookie Kaelon Black rushed for 60+ yards. Three different receivers, even with De'Zhaun Stribling leaving early with an injury, caught touchdown passes. Even without a sack, the defense was wreaking havoc throughout the game.
Kyle Shanahan and his team were ready to get after it in a massive way. They deserve all of the credit in the world, and they also get the most important so-called merit badge, which is a one in the win column after this game. And hell, they also deserve credit for not overthinking their travel plans, getting into Melbourne early and seemingly adjusting much better than the Rams.
All that to say, the travel isn't the only reason that the Rams lost this game. It had a lot to do with the 49ers.
However, it is to say that the Rams didn't even look competitive. For a team with the make-up we saw last year and their overall talent, that was appalling to see from Los Angeles. They looked like they didn't belong on the same field as the 49ers. It felt like the Rams might've lost this game no matter what with how the 49ers played, but there was something else that led to them getting dogwalked up and down the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
That's where the travel plans come into play. That is the obvious factor leading up to this game that feels like it would've led to this. And really, the Rams probably deserved to be taught some sort of lesson for that, which the 49ers obviously obliged. Again, the Rams might not have won had they gotten to Australia on the same timeline as San Francisco. Based on what we witnessed on the field, though, it definitely wouldn't have hurt.
Add us as a preferred source on Google