The NFL season is officially underway, but the fun doesn’t stop tonight when the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots finish their matchup, because tomorrow, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will duke it out on Thursday Night Football.

For the first time ever, the NFL will play a game in Australia, and the Rams and 49ers took very different approaches to this game. San Fran flew out almost a week early in order to adjust to the 17-hour time difference, but on the other side, the Rams embarked on their 15-hour flight on Tuesday night, arriving hardly a day before the game starts. We’ll see if either side did it right, or if it won’t even matter come game time.

On paper, this looks like a fantastic Week 1 matchup between two teams that genuinely believe they can win the Super Bowl this year, so I went through and broke down the game and gave my prediction for Thursday’s showdown.

Roster Changes

Despite making the NFC Championship Game last season, the Rams made quite a few changes to their roster this offseason. Their offense, which was the best in the league, remained mostly the same, but they made sure to upgrade their defense, which fell off a bit towards the end of last year.

Starting up front, in one of the biggest trades in NFL history, the Rams sent Jared Verse, a first-round pick and other draft capital to the Cleveland Browns for Myles Garrett, who just set the NFL record for the most sacks in a single season. On top of that, Aaron Donald, one of the greatest DTs of all time, came out of retirement, though he won’t play in this game. The Rams already had a very good pass rush, but now it’s even better.

In the secondary, the Rams made another trade for an All-Pro, sending the 29th pick plus some change to Kansas City for Trent McDuffie before going out and signing another former Chief, Jaylen Watson, in free agency. Cornerback was definitely the weakest spot on their team last year, but now it’s one of their strengths.

Moving to San Francisco, they didn’t make the same drastic changes LA did, but they still had a very successful offseason. Their headlining move was signing former Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans to a three-year deal, giving Brock Purdy a true WR1. They also drafted De’Zhaun Stribling, who has looked very good in the preseason, in the second round and brought Deebo Samuel back in free agency.

These two rosters look quite a bit different than they did last year, so we’ll see which team was able to gel the fastest.

Injuries

In Week 1, you don’t expect injuries to play too much of a factor, and they shouldn’t in this game.

The 49ers took a bit of a blow when they lost Alfred Collins for the year to a knee injury, but other than that, the only player who did not practice on their most recent injury report was James Thompson. Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, George Kittle and others were limited, but should all play.

As for the Rams, they had quite a few players sit out of practice on Tuesday. Byron Young, Jaylen Watson, Tyler Higbee, Alaric Jackson and Myles Garrett all sat out, but there’s been no indication that they’ll miss the game. Young, Higbee and Jackson got veteran rest days, and Garrett is dealing with a knee injury but should be good to go. Watson is a bit of a question mark, but there’s been no word about him missing the game.

The Rams will be without Aaron Donald, though, as he continues to ramp up for his return to the NFL.

It’s good to see both teams be so healthy heading into this game, because these are two of the most talented rosters in the NFL.

Key Matchups

Trent Williams vs Myles Garrett

The biggest matchup in this game will be between Myles Garrett and Trent Williams. Garrett is the best pass rusher in football, but Williams has been one of the best tackles in the league for a long, long time now. If Garrett can best Williams and get after Brock Purdy, it’s going to be a long night for the former Mr. Irrelevant.

Mike Evans vs Trent McDuffie

Mike Evans may be one of the best receivers in football, but he’s definitely getting older and has dealt with some injuries during the preseason. On his best day, he could probably win against Trent McDuffie a fair amount, but if he’s hobbled at all, McDuffie is good enough to shut him down. If Evans can win, it will give the 49ers a massive boost offensively, and they’re going to need it against this high-powered Rams offense.

CMC vs 49ers Entire Defense

Christian McCaffrey is one of the best playmakers in the NFL. He’s nearly impossible to stop, because even when you slow him down on the ground, he’s a threat to catch seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. It’s going to take a cumulative effort from the 49ers’ defense to slow him down, but luckily for them, Fred Warner is back and ready to take him on.

Prediction

The Rams have the best roster in the NFL and are Super Bowl favorites for a reason. They have superstars at pretty much every single position, and even though I think the 49ers are a very good football team, I just think the Rams will be too much for them to handle in this game.

Both teams could start slow given that it’s Week 1 and they’re playing in Australia, but Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Kyren Williams will get hot in the second half while Myles Garrett and Co. do enough to slow Brock Purdy, Mike Evans, and Christian McCaffrey down.

Final Score: Rams 28, 49ers 20