Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams suffered a lopsided defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL’s first regular-season international game of 2026, held in Australia. After this matchup, they dropped to 0-1 to open a season many had pegged as Super Bowl-worthy. Despite the loss and mounting criticism of the Rams’ compressed travel schedule, McVay wasted little time addressing the backlash.
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“Sean McVay on the impact of travel in Week 1, via @gregbeacham: “I know there’s gonna be a lot of narratives that appropriately put the blame on me, and then we’ll move forward the right way. … I don’t believe (the travel plan) is why we didn’t play well enough. I really don’t.” Underdog NFL posted on X.
The game in Australia turned into a rough one for the Rams. Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson, and Deebo Samuel all caught touchdown passes from Brock Purdy, and the 49ers bagged a 27-7 win over the Rams in the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Getting to Melbourne wasn’t easy for either team. Both squads had to endure a brutal 16-hour flight just to get there. But leading up to kickoff, it was the Rams who couldn’t stop making headlines, and not for the reasons they’d want. Their whole travel approach became a talking point days before the ball was even snapped.
The Rams didn’t leave for Australia until Thursday, landing just a day ahead of kickoff. That gave them roughly 29 hours to rest and practice before kickoff. Compare that to the 49ers, who packed their bags a full week early and gave themselves plenty of time to adjust.
So naturally, people started wondering if the short turnaround would catch up to Los Angeles. And looking at the final score, it’s fair to ask that question.
Still, McVay wasn’t buying the fatigue narrative. Before the game, he sounded confident his team had handled the trip just fine.
“Flight was great,” McVay said at his presser. “We’re well-rested; we feel good. It really was. Matthew and I were just talking about that on the way over here. Able to sleep through the night, guys were comfortable, and they seem fresh. Get a good night’s rest tonight and be ready to rock tomorrow.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford echoed that sentiment too, insisting the flight wasn’t a problem and that the team would be good to go for the early 10:35 a.m. local kickoff.
Turns out this wasn’t a last-minute call. Peter Schrager of NFL Network reported that the Rams actually spent two years planning this trip, even sending fifteen staffers overseas ahead of time to figure out the smartest way to travel.
Their whole strategy was built around landing and leaving quickly so players’ internal clocks would stay locked in with U.S. time. The 49ers went the opposite way, arriving a week early to adjust.
Of course, nobody can say for certain whether the outcome would’ve been different if the Rams had followed the same plan as San Francisco.
What we do know is how McVay responded afterward, and he didn’t point fingers at anyone but himself.
“This is a humbling day for us, and this will define us only if we allow it to,” McVay said at the presser after the game. “And today was one of those days, and you know, I always look inside out. 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 deserve the win.”
For now, the Rams are left searching for answers, and how they respond starting next week will say a lot about this team.