MELBOURNE, Australia — Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes, and the San Francisco 49ers’ defense shut down Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams for a 27-7 victory in the season opener for both teams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.The 49ers turned the first regular-season game on the continent — played Friday morning local time and Thursday evening in the U.S. — into a rout with a goal-line stand and an 11-play, 99-yard drive capped by Purdy’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel early in the fourth quarter. San Francisco scored the game’s final 24 points.The Rams, who arrived in Melbourne just 28 hours before kickoff (compared to the 49ers’ arrival a week in advance), led 7-3 early in the second quarter but stalled from there.The clear preseason Super Bowl favorite, Los Angeles gained only 290 yards and committed two turnovers, while newly acquired defensive end Myles Garrett did not have so much as a tackle in his Rams debut.How did the 49ers’ defense slow the Rams’ star-studded offense?The defensive tackles were pushed around early, but the line got stronger as the game went on, culminating in the goal-line stand in the third quarter that pretty much had the Rams packing up for a long flight home.Fred Warner made plays all day, and a rejuvenated secondary under new coordinator Raheem Morris made some timely contributions, from Renardo Green’s interception to Jack Jones’ pass breakup. Morris did a good job of keeping the Rams’ offense off-balance, and Stafford never found a consistent second target other than Puka Nacua.There is still work to be done — the 49ers didn’t have a sack, as Nick Bosa is still shaking off the cobwebs and rookie Romello Height had trouble getting off blocks — but that’s OK, as this was a tough test against what many thought was the best team in the league.The Niners have home games against the lowly Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals next, and 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams is back Week 5. — Vic Tafur, 49ers beat writerThe Rams fell flat … but why?Next to nothing worked for the Rams the way things did last year, or the way they expected them to this year, with Garrett, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson joining the defense. Of the new additions, only McDuffie showed up, with great plays in coverage and run defense.Garrett was held without a sack, and Watson was beaten badly a few times, including for a Mike Evans touchdown catch. Other elements of this team that were so strong last year also faltered, from pass protection to the tight ends to Davante Adams to the run defense and overall pass rush.Whether the disappointment stemmed from the decision to travel one day ahead of the game or to hold starters out of the preseason is up for debate. My sense is it was more the latter, since that pops up with the offense every season. But it’s also hard to feel like this team took this game as seriously as it needed to with how Sean McVay set the trip up.It often felt like more of a chore to the Rams than an exciting opportunity. — Nate Atkins, Rams beat writerWas this a one-off, or a sign of broader concern for the Rams?My feeling is this will be a one-off. This team didn’t look anything like it did last season, and if that’s going to happen in a game, Week 1 across the world against a hated rival is a time for it.I think the Rams sacrificed sharpness in this game in order to not set their body clocks back moving forward, so they’ll need to rebound strongly against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football.”It’ll have to start with a few dramatic shifts: Garrett has to make an impact and not look like a guy kicking the rust off after weeks of little practice. The pass rush has to rise up collectively, which would make it a good time for Aaron Donald to return, given how nonexistent the interior rush was against the 49ers.Stafford and Adams have to find a better connection than the one that produced three catches for 26 yards for Adams. And the Rams have to get these tight ends more involved in the game plan than to produce four catches for 31 yards. — AtkinsDo the 49ers finally have an RB they can trust besides CMC?The 49ers said they were determined to give Christian McCaffrey more breaks this season. It turns out they weren’t lying. McCaffrey’s understudy, third-round rookie Kaelon Black, entered the game on the 49ers’ fifth offensive snap, then was in the offensive huddle to start San Francisco’s second offensive series.McCaffrey’s usage was a far cry from 2025, when he carried the team in the first half of the season and finished with 413 touches, the most by any NFL player in a season since 2014. The most carries his backup, Brian Robinson Jr., had in a game in 2025 was nine. Black’s ninth carry came late in the third quarter, a 14-yard first-down scamper. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writerWhat was the Australia experience like?The 49ers admit it took some time to adjust to the 17-hour time difference — five days, according to coach Kyle Shanahan. But Shanahan and his players were feeling strong in the run-up to the game in MelbourneAnd it didn’t hurt that they got an additional boost from the crowd. That’s been a reliable energy source for the 49ers on the road, especially when visiting the Rams in Los Angeles. The crowd at Melbourne Cricket Ground certainly had a mix of allegiance. All 32 NFL teams were represented by fan jerseys, in fact. But the majority were backing the 49ers, something that could be heard as early as warmups and could be seen in the distinct red hue of the crowd shots. — Barrows