- 1 San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams: the NFL kicks off its season on the other side of the world
- 2 San Francisco 49ers: a week to settle in and an injury list that is still open
- 3 Los Angeles Rams: the best offence in 2025 and a fresh middle
- 4 NFL Prediction San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling comes first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams: the NFL kicks off its season on the other side of the world 
The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts the first regular-season game in NFL history in Australia. The 49ers and the Rams open their 2026 campaign there.
Kickoff is set for Friday morning, September 11, Melbourne time, which means Thursday, September 10, 8:35 p.m. ET in the United States. Netflix will carry the game.
That slot is no accident: the league has lined it up for prime time on the East Coast. Melbourne gets an American football game in the middle of the morning.
The two franchises share the NFC West and will meet twice this season. The rematch is already scheduled for Week 14 in Los Angeles.
The travel plans, though, could hardly be more different. San Francisco has gone for a long acclimatisation period; the Rams are arriving in a rush, less than 24 hours before kickoff.
That is one of the biggest factors in this matchup, along with the battle in the trenches.
Both teams also head into opening day with medical question marks hanging over key defensive pieces.
San Francisco 49ers: a week to settle in and an injury list that is still open 
The 49ers landed in Melbourne on the morning of Friday, September 4, after a 15-hour charter flight with Qantas. The travelling party included 200 people.
Arriving a week early is about one thing: beating the jet lag before it bites. No NFL team has ever had to handle a trip this big for a regular-season game.
From a football point of view, though, the injury report is the real story. Sam Okuayinonu is already ruled out after hurting his foot in practice this week, after posting three sacks last season.
George Kittle and Nick Bosa made the trip and are back at practice, but there is no guarantee either will play. Kittle is coming off an Achilles tear suffered in the playoffs, while Bosa is back from an ACL injury that limited him to three games and two sacks in 2025.
Up front, Christian McCaffrey remains the most reliable pillar of the offence, especially against the Rams’ defensive front. He played all 17 games last season for 1,202 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 924 receiving yards and seven more scores.
Brock Purdy, meanwhile, played only nine games in 2025: 2,167 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His return to full-time duty changes the shape of the offence.
Mac Jones gives them a credible backup option too. He put up 2,151 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions in 11 games last season, and both quarterbacks are kept on for 2026.
The linebacker group also deserves a close look. Fred Warner played only six games in 2025 before an ankle injury, yet still finished ninth on the team with 51 tackles after leading the team in tackles six times in eight seasons.
Mike Evans, signed in March 2026 on a three-year deal from Tampa Bay, and Deebo Samuel, back after a year with the Commanders, widen the target tree. Evans, though, remains uncertain for opening day against the Rams.
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Los Angeles Rams: the best offence in 2025 and a fresh middle 
Los Angeles finished the 2025 season with the NFL’s top offence. Matthew Stafford, the Rams quarterback, comes in off a campaign that ended with MVP honours.
That stat sets the tone here: the Rams arrive with a settled attacking unit, while the opposition’s defence is still being patched together physically. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum will share the carries.
The defensive front has been rebuilt around Myles Garrett, ranked No. 1 in the 2026 NFL Top 100. Aaron Donald’s status for opening day remains unclear.
Behind that, the overhaul is even more obvious. Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson are set to play their first game in a Rams shirt, while the safety group is entering its third season together.
The travel schedule does them no favours either. The California franchise is not due to land in Melbourne until Thursday, with the aim of sticking to its home time zone as much as possible to limit the effects of the trip.
The NFL, for its part, does not see this as a one-off. The league has made it clear it wants regular games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a sell-out crowd is expected.
Standing in their way is a serious San Francisco offensive line, led by Trent Williams, a 12-time Pro Bowler, and ranked fifth in the league by Pro Football Focus at the end of the 2025 season.
The battle between that unit and the Garrett-Bosa-Greenlaw trio, if everyone is fit, is the real tactical hinge of the night.
NFL Prediction San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams
Our prediction: over 44.5 points in the game
The Rams, the NFL’s best offence in 2025, come into this one facing a defence missing Sam Okuayinonu and waiting on Nick Bosa’s return. The edge lies with the offensive units.
On the other side, San Francisco lines up McCaffrey, Purdy and Deebo Samuel in front of a Rams secondary making its official debut with McDuffie and Watson. Neither secondary is fully in sync yet.
Add in Dre Greenlaw, signed in March 2026 after a season in Denver, reuniting with Fred Warner at linebacker after both have had injury-hit stretches, and you get a pair that is still searching for rhythm. That naturally opens space.
Mike Evans brings a rare statistical marker too: over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 11 NFL seasons. Injury held him to 368 yards in eight games last year, which explains the uncertainty around him now.
The total is the clearest angle on this game: take over 44.5 points between the Niners and the Rams.
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