NFL Recap | September 10, 2026
The NFL's first regular-season game in Australia drew 100,021 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and San Francisco gave them a rout. Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes, the defense added two takeaways and a goal-line stand, and the 49ers pulled away from the Rams 27-7. Below: how it got out of hand, the star and dud of the night, and how our preview calls graded out.
The 49ers Own the First Night Down Under
San Francisco 49ers 27 @ Los Angeles Rams 7
San Francisco led wire to wire, opening with a field goal and taking a 10-7 halftime lead on Purdy's 39-yard touchdown to Demarcus Robinson. The Rams' only answer was a Kyren Williams rushing score, because Matthew Stafford spent the first half buried: 4-of-11 for 65 yards and an interception at the break, his worst first-half passer rating since 2012.
The second half opened with a 45-yard Deebo Samuel kickoff return and two big Christian McCaffrey runs, and Purdy cashed the drive with a third-down touchdown to Mike Evans for 17-7. The knockout came in the fourth quarter: Fred Warner and Gracen Halton stuffed Stafford on fourth-and-goal, and Purdy answered with a 99-yard touchdown drive the other way, finished by Deebo Samuel.
Warner wasn't done, punching the ball out of Tyler Higbee's hands to set up a 56-yard Eddy Pineiro field goal and the final margin. Purdy closed 25-of-34 for 205 yards with three touchdowns against one interception, a second-quarter pick by Quentin Lake that Stafford handed right back. Stafford finished 15-of-25 for 155 yards with no touchdowns and a pick in the reigning MVP's quietest night in years.
The ground game did the rest for San Francisco, which rushed for 174 yards behind McCaffrey (68 yards on 10 carries) and Kaelon Black (65 on 14). All told, the 49ers turned the two takeaways and the goal-line stand into 17 points, and a game billed as an NFC West measuring stick never really became one.
STAR OF THE NIGHT
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco — 25-of-34 for 205 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers, including the 99-yard dagger drive after the goal-line stand.
DUD OF THE NIGHT
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles — 15-of-25 for 155 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, stuffed on fourth-and-goal with the game still in reach.
Tracking Our Calls
Our preview of this game took Los Angeles -3.5 and the Over 48.5. Here's how each call graded out against the final.
Los Angeles -3.5 — Miss. The Rams didn't just fail to cover, they lost outright by 20.
Over 48.5 — Miss. The teams combined for just 34 points, with Los Angeles held to a single touchdown.
Season to date: Spread 1-1, O/U 1-1.
Week 1's main course arrives Sunday, when the rest of the league takes the field for the first time. Our picks across the remainder of the slate land later this week.