49ers Rout Rams 27-7 Before 100,021 Fans in the NFL's First Game in Australia

The San Francisco 49ers opened their season with a 27-7 rout of the Los Angeles Rams on Friday in Melbourne, Australia, as the NFL played its first regular-season game in the country in front of 100,021 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes and San Francisco's defense held Matthew Stafford and the Rams to a single score. The crowd was the seventh-largest for a regular-season game in league history. Because of the time difference, the 10:35 a.m. local kickoff landed in Thursday night prime time back in the United States.

Purdy spreads it around

Purdy completed 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, connecting with eight different receivers.

Demarcus Robinson scored on a 39-yard pass, Mike Evans caught a 2-yard touchdown in his 49ers debut, and Deebo Samuel Sr. added a 15-yard scoring catch. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro chipped in with field goals, including the first points of the game in the opening quarter.

San Francisco also controlled the game on the ground, piling up 174 rushing yards. Christian McCaffrey ran for 68 yards on 10 carries, and rookie Kaelon Black added 65 yards on 14 attempts.

Defense makes the difference

The Rams' best chance to make it a game ended at the 1-yard line, where defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa stopped Stafford on fourth-and-goal.

Cornerback Renardo Green made a leaping interception of Stafford, and linebacker Fred Warner forced a fumble by tight end Tyler Higbee that Keion White recovered. Warner finished with 11 tackles and moved past Patrick Willis for the most career tackles in franchise history.

Stafford completed 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards. Los Angeles got its only touchdown in the second quarter on a 5-yard run by Kyren Williams, the first touchdown scored in a regular-season NFL game in Australia.

A historic trip

The game took the NFL's international schedule to a new continent. The league has played regular-season games in London since 2007 and has since added Mexico City, Germany, São Paulo, Dublin and Madrid. Melbourne was the longest trip yet.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground, best known as the home of Australian rules football's Grand Final and cricket's Boxing Day Test, is one of the largest stadiums in the world, and the size of the crowd will strengthen the case for returning.

The trip also reshaped the start of the season. With Melbourne taking the traditional Thursday night slot, the league's kickoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots was played on Wednesday instead.

What it means for both teams

For San Francisco, it was about as clean a start as a team could want after a long journey: a division win, a turnover-free game from its quarterback and a defense that came up with stops when it mattered.

For the Rams, a lopsided loss to their closest rival raises questions about an offense that managed one touchdown and a defense that allowed 174 rushing yards.

What happens next

The 49ers return home to host the Miami Dolphins at Levi's Stadium on Sept. 20. The Rams host the New York Giants on Sept. 21.

Image: Alexander Sheko via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0