Purdy and 49ers Dominate in Melbourne
Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes and the San Francisco 49ers routed the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 Thursday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the first NFL regular-season game played in Australia. Purdy completed 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, and also ran for 29 yards on five carries. The announced crowd of 100,021 was the seventh-largest regular-season attendance in NFL history. The 49ers had already been in Melbourne for a week, while the Rams arrived less than two days before kickoff and stayed on Pacific Time.[S1][S2]
Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson and Deebo Samuel caught Purdy's touchdown passes, which covered 39 yards to Robinson, 5 yards to Evans and 15 yards to Samuel. Evans, in his 49ers debut, caught six passes for 49 yards, with five of his receptions converting third downs. Samuel, in his return, had six catches for 48 yards and a 45-yard kickoff return. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro made field goals of 20 and 56 yards but hit the right upright and missed from 52 yards. The 49ers outgained the Rams 379 to 290, had more first downs (23 to 15), more plays (64 to 57), fewer turnovers (one to two), fewer penalties (two to four) and a better third-down conversion rate (7-of-12 to 2-of-9).[S1][S2]
Rams Struggle on Both Sides of the Ball
Kyren Williams scored the NFL's first Australian touchdown on a 5-yard rush to begin the second quarter, giving the Rams their only lead at 7-3. But the Rams were a disaster Down Under. Los Angeles hadn't lost by more than seven points since November 2024. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning NFL MVP, finished 15-of-25 for 155 yards with an interception and a 61.2 passer rating. He failed on two fourth-down plays, including a quarterback sneak from the San Francisco 1 in the third quarter when he was stopped short by Fred Warner and rookie Gracen Halton. In his previous 84 starts, Stafford had scored fewer than 10 points only once. He was replaced by Stetson Bennett for mop-up duty with 3:29 left.[S1][S2]
Myles Garrett, the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was practically invisible in his Rams debut after missing much of training camp with aches, recording zero tackles. He spent much of the night going one-on-one with Trent Williams and appeared gassed in the fourth quarter. Garrett did not practice much this summer due to knee swelling. Puka Nacua caught five passes for 74 yards for the Rams. On defense for San Francisco, Warner totaled 11 tackles, a pass defensed and a forced fumble; Dre Greenlaw had six tackles; and Nick Bosa recorded four tackles, two for loss, and a quarterback hit.[S1][S2]
Preparation and Reaction
Much of the pregame talk centered on the teams' starkly differing methods of preparation. The 49ers ingratiated themselves to the local fans as their body clocks adjusted, while the Rams stayed home until less than two days before kickoff, keeping their body clocks on California time. Both teams started with understandable sluggishness for a 10:35 a.m. kickoff local time, but Williams' touchdown run finally got the crowd cheering. The quarterbacks then traded interceptions before Purdy shook off a shaky start and found former Rams receiver Robinson on a 39-yard post route. San Francisco surged out of halftime, with Samuel's 45-yard kickoff return leading to Evans' touchdown catch over new Rams cornerback Jaylen Watson.[S1][S2]
Rams coach Sean McVay said his team was outplayed in every facet and called it a humbling day, adding that it will only define them if they allow it. He made no excuses about travel and said they simply were not good enough. Purdy said the game came down to playing their style of ball and doing what the coaches love to do, while respecting the opponent and knowing they will play them again later in the year. The 49ers' defense frustrated Stafford throughout, holding the NFL's best offense last season to one score and stopping him on a fourth-down quarterback sneak from the San Francisco 1 in the third quarter. The 49ers responded with a 99-yard scoring drive capped by Purdy's third touchdown pass of the day.[S1][S2]
