Neither the Los Angeles Rams nor the San Francisco 49ers are happy about the fact that they have to play a game in Australia next season, with Kyle Shanahan even saying that the Rams made sure to drag them through the mud with them after the International schedule was announced. Check out the Rams own website announcing their 2026 opponents and the conspicuous absence of the 49ers on their home slate, with only the message “Our home game against the 49ers will be played in Melbourne” as a footnote:
So if the Rams have been screwed by the NFL in Week 1, what’s the best favor that the league could do for L.A. in Week 2?
Who is the ideal Week 2 opponent?
Not these games
The stakes have to be lower than playing the 49ers, so no division games:
- Seahawks (home or away)
- Cardinals (home or away)
- 49ers (away)
Obviously it won’t be the 49ers.
It would also be fair to rule out good teams in the NFC:
- Eagles (away)
- Bucs (away)
- Packers (home)
And why not teams that could be good in the NFC:
- Cowboys (home)
- Commanders (away)
The Rams might end up taking a loss in the division and the conference, games that are more important for playoff tiebreakers than opponents in the AFC. However, it would still be unfair to make the Rams face a Super Bowl contender from the other conference the week after returning to America.
So no good teams in the AFC:
- Bills (home)
- Chiefs (home)
- Chargers (home)
- Broncos (away)
This only leaves two games on the Rams 2026 schedule to choose from…
New York Giants at home
or
Las Vegas Raiders on the road
Which game would be the best Week 2 opponent to give the Rams a fair break after sacrificing a home game to the Aussies?
It’s not so clear.
Giants at home
There is nothing on the SoFi Stadium schedule for the weekend of September 20th (when Week 2 is) so we can assume that the NFL and the arena is already assuming that the Rams could be using it.
The Giants went 4-13 last year and fired head coach Brian Daboll. We don’t know if Malik Nabers will have returned by Week 2 and Jaxson Dart is yet to be proven as an NFL starter.
However, the Giants also hired John Harbaugh and they have expectations of a return to contention right away, potentially including rookie running back Jerymiah Love if he ends up being the fifth overall pick. The Giants probably won’t make the playoffs next season, and this game is at home, but compared to the Raiders they are more likely to bring a fight than Las Vegas.
Raiders on the road
The Raiders have the number one pick, but technically they weren’t definitively the worst team: Four teams shared a 3-14 record in 2025 and Las Vegas had the tiebreaker.
With new head coach Klint Kubiak and recently-signed quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Raiders expect their 32nd-ranked offense to be better immediately. Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers will make a case for Las Vegas being much better offensively than anyone expects and expected top pick Fernando Mendoza will be on the bench to start the year barring an injury to Cousins.
But if there was ever a time to face the Raiders and hope to smoke them, wouldn’t it be Week 2?
Although this game is on the road, it’s not that far away. The Rams could get to Las Vegas in an hour on a jet. It’s not that big of a deal and it does save L.A. from using up two of their home game dates immediately.
Should they be focused on just settling into Los Angeles for a few weeks when they get back though?
So which is better?
A draw against the Giants in Week 2 at SoFi Stadium is the safest bet. Australia is damn far away and the last thing players want to do when they get back is travel again. You could even go with the Raiders in Week 3 and then hope that worst case scenario L.A. loses in Week 1, maybe this increases their odds of bouncing back to 2-1.
What would you pick?
