The Los Angeles Rams took a beating in Melbourne, Australia, losing to the San Francisco 49ers, 27-7. With a humbling loss on their minds, here are three shocking lessons from the Week 1 defeat.
Chris Shula has a lot to answer for, with a resume that indicates he'll have the right response
The 49ers destroyed Shula and the defense schematically, which resulted in the team losing the will to compete as the game went on. As the 49ers employed a spread-and-shred offense that got the ball to Christian McCaffrey and Mike Evans quickly, they used the inside run with Kaelon Black to damage the Rams to a point of no recovery.
This wasn't a shock, as Kyle Shanahan has had Sean McVay's number in the regular season, especially when the 49ers are healthy. Shula has a lot to answer for, as his new toys were not used in new ways. The good news is that
he's been here before. In 2024, Shula has to find himself in the midst of continual failures. He did so, with the defense being the force behind their divisional win.
The 49ers' offense is brilliant, but it is one system. Expect Shula to dial up more blitzes and run more man coverage moving forward. Not only did he get a crash course in how 2026 offenses are going to use pre-snap motion, but he also has the time to watch every offense this Sunday, and from this week on, he'll have a catalog of what the opposition is doing, allowing him to make the moves he's done in the past. Unlike last season, he also has the talent to do so, as long as they're positioned properly.
The defensive line has more concerns than once believed
Myles Garrett's lingering health issues and absence from training camp and preseason team activities were bigger than initially let on. Byron Young didn't look dominant at all, being flushed out of the action, while the interior of the line was a letdown. Braden Fiske was a monster as a rookie before enduring a quiet, injury-riddled 2025, and he was again a non-factor on Thursday.
The Rams rushed with recklessness, opening up holes for Brock Purdy to either step into, using the gaps to deliver strikes downfield, or find space to run into. They failed to hold up against the run, conjuring up concerns from the past, and the 49ers were too comfortable running their offense. No matter what the Rams did, it failed. However, Josaiah Stewart needs to see the field more, and we need to watch as he might start to outplay Young at some point this season.
Sean McVay's play sequencing has to be refined for the modern game
Too often the Rams went to the pass, even when they were in the middle of having success with the run. Almost as if McVay is seeking the first sign of his run game stalling so he can go to the pass, the Rams took the ball out of the hands of their two top offensive playmakers, and it made Matthew Stafford look foolish.
Kyren Williams and Blake Corum were having a day against the 49ers, with the offensive line looking confident blocking downhill. Corum especially was zigging and zagging between defenders, flashing his offseason improvements.
If we look at the Rams' offensive drives, they read like a repeating script. Williams or Corum have successful runs, McVay goes to the pass, Stafford has to force a pass that falls incomplete, setting up third-and-long. And then the Rams fail to convert. McVay is becoming too predictable.
Every defensive coordinator knows McVay will throw himself to victory or out of a ballgame. He struggles with keeping the ball on the ground or calling corresponding passing plays to stay ahead of the chains. That, paired with a lack of evolution in his red zone offense, has to have some wondering if the NFL's offensive wonderkid has hit his schematic ceiling.
I wouldn't go that far, but it's clear McVay feels the weight of this season. Desperation drives innovation, and I expect the same to happen again. But how long will McVay be at the forefront of offensive thought before he falls back into old habits? It was the Divisional Round against the Chicago Bears last season in which McVay went off the rails. That was before he outmaneuvered a Super Bowl defense a week later. The duality of man.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 3 shocking lessons for the Rams from Week 1 loss
