The ballyhooed Los Angeles Rams faceplanted in Australia, getting blown out, 27-7, by the rival San Francisco 49ers in a much-anticipated season opener on Thursday.
"They outplayed us in every facet," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "I didn't do nearly a good enough job. This is a humbling day for us. This will define us only if we allow it to. Today was one of those days."
The Rams took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on the strength of a Puka Nacua 41-yard catch-and-run. From there, things devolved. Over the next five drives, the Rams generated nine first downs, Matthew Stafford tossed an interception, Tyler Higbee lost a fumble and the team turned it over on downs twice, including once at the 1-yard line. Meanwhile, a revamped defense allowed the Niners to move up and down the field. San Francisco scored on five of its nine possessions and punted just twice, both in the first half.
"I always look inside-out," McVay said. "I didn't do a good enough job getting us ready to go. There were some opportunities where maybe the game could have flipped, but they deserved the win. They were ready to go. And we'll look at it. We'll see where we can improve and be better moving forward.
"But this is a good humbling day. This is what can sometimes happen in sports. I love this locker room and, you know, the first thing that I'm going to look at is myself, and I have to do a better job for a group collectively, with our coaches, with our players, and we'll look at this film, and we'll get back to work because, clearly, that's obviously what we've got to do, and sometimes sports can humble you, and today was one of those days."
Much was made about the Rams' decision to make the 15-hour flight to Melbourne late in the week, while the Niners spent the entire week Down Under. Whether it was the jet lag or simply a team that didn't play its starters in the preseason, the Rams looked sluggish most of the contest.
The Rams scored just seven points in their Week 1 loss against the 49ers, their fewest in any of the 75 games with Stafford as their starter. The seven-point total marks just the second Stafford start for the Rams with fewer than 10 points scored -- the other came in Week 4 of 2022 at San Francisco (lost 24-9).
"I make no excuses and, you know, whether you want to say it's about travel, whatever, we just weren't good enough in that window," McVay said. "I didn't coach good enough, and we'll look at it and we'll move forward, and that's where we're at right now. But it was a great atmosphere. Give credit to the 49ers. They deserve it, and we're 0-1, and we'll move forward."
As for the debut of Myles Garrett in a Rams jersey, the pass rusher led the club with five QB pressures, including two quick pressures, but didn't record a sack nor a tackle in the contest. Like the rest of the Rams D, Garrett was mostly impotent versus Brock Purdy and the 49ers offense.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year said his banged-up knee didn't feel 100 percent heading into the game.
"This was the worst version of myself that I've put out there," he said. "And I've got to be better. I've got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I've shown that I've been before."
