Winners and losers of 49ers’ thrashing of not-so-super Rams in Australia

Turns out the Los Angeles Rams won't be a historic juggernaut. They’re certainly no threat to the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

A star-studded L.A. squad some thought might pull off the first 17-0 regular season got thoroughly walloped by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL’s first regular-season foray into Australia. The Niners’ 27-7 victory not only seeded doubt about the Rams but also reaffirmed San Fran as a bona fide Super Bowl 61 contender on the heels of a 12-5 campaign in 2025 that was truly remarkable given the myriad injuries suffered by the 49ers.

Let’s break down the fallout from Down Under:

Duh. They won. But they also did so in dominant fashion, basically with a full complement of their stars. After an early interception, QB Brock Purdy was surgical, as he so often is, completing 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards and three TDs, including one each to WRs Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, who weren’t with this team in 2025. Defensively, DE Nick Bosa and LB Fred Warner were back for a unit that almost completely shut down the Rams offense, limiting them to 290 yards, 15 first downs and just one trip to the end…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/