by 49ers 27, Rams 7: The First Australia Game Was Not Close
The NFL went to Australia. San Francisco went home with the division win.
Final: 49ers 27, Rams 7.
First regular-season game on the continent. Crowd: 100,021. Brock Purdy threw three touchdowns. Matthew Stafford threw none and left before the clock died.
How the first Australian touchdown happened
Eddy Pineiro opened it from 20 yards. Then Kyren Williams scored the first NFL touchdown on Australian grass — 5 yards, early second quarter. Rams 7, 49ers 3.
That was the last time Los Angeles led. That was the last time Los Angeles scored.
Purdy found Demarcus Robinson, a former Ram, for 39 yards. Halftime: 10-7 San Francisco. After that the game stopped being a novelty and became a hunt.
Purdy after the break
Deebo Samuel brought the second-half kick back 45 yards. Mike Evans scored from 2. Then Purdy drove 99 yards and hit Samuel from 15. Pineiro added a 56-yarder.
Purdy: 25-of-34, 205 yards, three scores, one pick, no sacks. Evans converted third downs like he had been in that huddle for years. Samuel was back in scarlet. Robinson scored on the team that used to pay him.
What happened to the Rams
Stafford, last year’s MVP, went 15-of-25 for 155 yards, no touchdowns, one interception. The 49ers stuffed a sneak from the 1 in the third. Puka Nacua was ruled down inches short. After that the night drained.
Late in the fourth, Los Angeles pulled Stafford. Stetson Bennett finished it. The Rams had not lost by more than seven points since November 2024. They lost this one by 20, a hemisphere from home.
San Francisco had been in Melbourne a week. The Rams arrived about a day before kickoff. That is a fact about travel. It is not an excuse written here as a verdict. The score is the verdict.
The card
- Final: 49ers 27, Rams 7
- Site: Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Crowd: 100,021
- Purdy: 25-34, 205, 3 TD, 1 INT
- Stafford: 15-25, 155, 0 TD, pulled late
- First Aussie TD: Kyren Williams, 5 yards
- Last 24 points: San Francisco
What it means
Week 1 in Seattle was a one-score rematch and a backup quarterback. Week 1 in Melbourne was a statement against a Super Bowl favorite.
The NFC West is 2-0 at the top if you count Seattle from Wednesday. The Rams are 0-1 and already on a long flight home.
Sunday is the real slate. This page is the Australia chapter. The board still has thirteen games to fill: NFL Week 1 schedule 2026.
Desk note. Final and scoring from the official box and league game coverage, Sept. 10–11, 2026. Crowd figure from game reports. Travel times are reported, not litigated here.
More: Seahawks 13, Patriots 10 · Week 1 board · Recaps
