MELBOURNE, Australia — In the highly anticipated season opener in Melbourne, Australia, the Rams lost to the 49ers 27-7. What was a close first half, with San Francisco leading 10-7 at halftime, ended with the 49ers scoring 24 unanswered points. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 155 yards and an interception as 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 205 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Los Angeles will start the season 0-1 and play the Giants in Week 2 for their home opener on Monday, Sept. 21.
Head coach Sean McVay, Stafford, outside linebacker Myles Garrett and defensive end Kobie Turner gave their takeaways on the Week 1 loss.
"(I) didn't think we communicated very well on both sides of the football. We obviously weren't very efficient in the kicking game either, and so they outplayed us in every phase. They deserved the win. I think that's really what it boils down to." - McVay
When reflecting on the game, McVay noted how the 49ers were "sharp in all three phases." He also pointed to a palpable shift in momentum when Stafford and the Rams offense failed to convert a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, and then the 49ers drove 99 yards down the field to score a touchdown. "The game flipped from there," McVay said of San Francisco scoring that touchdown near the beginning of the fourth quarter to give them a 24-7 lead.
Despite the performance, McVay made sure to emphasize that a loss like "this will only define us if we allow it to." He also repeatedly mentioned how he's taking accountability for the loss personally, saying that "sometimes sports can humble you, and today was one of those days. I make no excuses."
"We didn't play well enough. Obviously, never got into a rhythm. Only had probably two good drives, to be honest with you, the entire day. One of them ends up on a touchdown, next we get to the 1-yard line, don't get in. So not enough good stuff on offense." - Stafford
The two drives Stafford was referring to both strung together nice plays and one of the two ended in points. Wide receiver Puka Nacua had a 41-yard grab, making two guys miss, that led to the Rams' lone touchdown. Three strong completions of 10-or-more yards on the later drive that ended in a failed quarterback sneak also highlighted the day.
Despite the inability to get into a rhythm, and an overall sense that "felt like we were fighting ourselves a little bit today," Stafford feels confident moving forward, saying that there's "a lot of football left and opportunities with the right kind of people and the right coaches and everybody to go out there and fix it and move forward."
"(We've) gotta be better, myself especially. (We) didn't execute as we wanted to. We got beat on all three phases, and we have to do more. There's a lot more on this team that can be done, and that starts with us as leaders." - Garrett
Following the Week 1 loss, Garrett said that McVay's message to the team was "resilience." As McVay mentioned to the media about taking accountability, and the loss only defining the Rams if they let it, Garrett is motivated to improve following his Week 1 showing. When reflecting on the 49ers offensive front, he said "they mixed it up well, but they weren't doing anything specifically different. We just didn't play our brand of ball."
"We know we have the right people in this building to be able to use this as momentum, and we've had that time and time again. We've talked about it: you're either walking into the storm, you're either in the middle of it or you're coming out of it. And we know exactly the type of guys that we have. We're going to be inside out more than ever, and it's a great opportunity. Setbacks are setups to have greater comebacks." - Turner
Turner was also quick to point to the 99-yard drive as a real game changer, saying "anytime we let a team drive from their own (1-yard line) and score a touchdown, we're not going to win a whole lot of games that way."
As Turner mentioned, an early season loss is certainly a setback, but it's how a team responds that matters. Although the Rams will enter Week 2 against the Giants with a 0-1 record, "at the end of the day, we're going to uphold our standard and continue moving forward," Turner said.
