The Los Angeles Rams were the clear favorites to win Super Bowl LXI before they started their season in Australia against the rival San Francisco 49ers. The Rams are supposed to be the dominant team in the NFL as they added Myles Garrett in the offseason from the Cleveland Browns and overpowering defensive lineman Aaron Donald came out of

A plan 15 months in the making fell flat for the Super Bowl favorites in the season-opening loss to the 49ers in Melbourne.

The NFL's Rams and 49ers season opener in Australia has drawn thousands of American fans. Richard Trang is thrilled to see the 49ers play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and appreciates the camaraderie between Niners fans and Australians.

The longtime NFC West rivals take part in the longest road trip in league history to play their season opener in front of 100,000-plus at Melbourne Cricket Ground, which typically hosts cricket and Australian rules football.

Last year’s Vikings-Lions Christmas Day matchup on Netflix set a streaming record with 27.5 million viewers. However, that record was broken a few weeks later when the NFL placed the Bears-Packers wild-card matchup on Amazon Prime Video, which drew more than 30 million viewers.

The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers both traveled extreme distances to get to Melbourne. They used different travel approaches; while the Rams traveled to Australia the day before, while the 49ers had been there for a week.

Entering their season opener versus the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday in Australia, the Rams flex a similar toolset to a year ago.