The Los Angeles Rams did nothing right in the first game of the 2026 season. The Seattle Seahawks' toughest rival in 2026 was the "home" team in the first regular-season game in Australia against the San Francisco 49ers, but unlike Kyle Shanahan's team, Sean McVay's team didn't show up Down Under until a day before the game.
Did McVay and Rams general manager Les Snead choose poorly in their timing of when to head to Melbourne? Sleep experts might dispute it, but no one watching the game would think LA was anything but lethargic. Meanwhile, the 49ers looked quite fresh.
Most importantly, it took just one game for the Rams to show that they will not, in fact, go undefeated this season after acquiring edge rusher Myles Garrett. (The Rams also brought back legendary defensive tackle Aaron Donald, but he didn't play in Week 1.)
Seattle Seahawks rival, the Los Angeles Rams, won't be going unbeaten in 2026
Garrett did nothing, literally. After the game, he said his knee didn't feel 100 percent after he'd hurt it before. That may have been so, but he also just looked sleepy. Next time the Rams play so far from home, one can assume that they will get to their location a lot sooner.
The game wasn't close. Los Angeles had zero sacks and two quarterback hits and gave up 5.8 yards per carry to San Francisco. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was 25 of 34 passing for 205 yards passing and three touchdowns in a 27-7 victory.
Of the two teams, the 49ers looked far scarier for the Seahawks than the Rams, at least through one game. Los Angeles could certainly beat Seattle twice and go on to win the Super Bowl, as 12s saw last season just how competitive LA was with the Seattle Seahawks, but they won't go the season without losing a game.
Week 1s are often lies, of course. Seattle lost to San Francisco in Week 1 of 2025 and then won its last 10 games, including the Super Bowl. This isn't about the Rams being bad because they have too much talent not to be good, but more about how all the brilliance assigned to Sean McVay and the organization is a bit misleading.
As the NFL tries to grow its brand globally, the "home" team in Melbourne, Australia, didn't bother to partake in pre-game festivities. If young Aussies watched the game and then go on to become NFL fans, one can assume most will be wearing 49ers gear and not Rams merchandise.
Some LA fans have tried to make excuses for their team, like saying the Rams sent players and their mascot to Australia in the months before the game to build buzz. Their mascot? What? Who cares?
But what are those Los Angeles Rams fans saying now that their team clearly wasn't well rested for a game in Australia? McVay chose poorly, and Shanahan and his 49ers made him pay for that,
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