Sean McVay head coach of the Los Angeles Rams looks on in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game against San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia
Sean McVay watches as his team loses to the 49ers on Sept. 10, 2026.
The Los Angeles Rams’ performance Down Under is under the Internet’s microscope
The team arrived only 28 hours before its game against the San Francisco 49ers
The Rams lost, 27-7, to their NFC rival
The Los Angeles Rams’ sluggish effort against the San Francisco 49ers has become social media fodder after the team got bounced like a kangaroo in Australia on Thursday night.
The NFC rivals’ matchup at Melbourne Cricket Ground turned into a nightmare for the Aaron Donald-less team, who lost 27-7 on Thursday, Sept. 10 amid ongoing chatter about the unconventional travel plans they made to get there.
While the Niners opted to travel Down Under a full week before the game, the Rams chose to take a 16-hour flight that would land 28 hours ahead of kickoff.
The Rams had been preparing for the game for two years, hoping to achieve a different outcome. While aboard a Qantas Airbus A380, the plan was for the team to sleep in lie-flat seats — and then catch more Z’s after they arrived at their hotel in Melbourne, the night before the game.
“This isn’t some trial and error approach,” ESPN NFL analyst Peter Schrager said. “They’ve sent 15 staffers over the last two years and have tracked their bodies and sleep rhythms. This was deemed the approach. No turning back now.”
Over the spring, four Rams players, including offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, made the trip to test the waters.
Deebo Samuel Sr. #19 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game against Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia
Deebo Samuel Sr. #19 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game against Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia
“They kind of used us as guinea pigs,” Dotson — who was joined by Kyren Williams, Tyler Davis and Xavier Smith — told the Los Angeles Times.
In the end, the game’s result had social media users bringing the jokes.
“Maybe it’s just me but the Rams look like a football team that took a 9,000-mile, 16-hour flight within the last 48 hours,” writer Rodger Sherman wrote on X, while comedian Sal Iacono ventured, “What time do the Rams arrive in Australia?”
While the Niners were enjoying coffee and the scenery (according to tight end George Kittle), the Rams’ last-second arrival proved seemingly impossible for the team to overcome.
“I didn’t do a good enough job getting us ready to go,” head coach Sean McVay said. “This is a good, humbling day. I have to do a better job for our group collectively.”