All that hype and anticipation quickly subsided on Thursday night after the Los Angeles Rams were steamrolled by the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia. They had nothing going on offense, the defense couldn't stop Brock Purdy and the end result was a 27-7 loss in prime time.
It's not the way the Super Bowl favorites were supposed to start the year, but all 17 games count the same, and the Rams have 16 more opportunities to show they're the team a lot of people picked to win it all.
Week 1 is the biggest week of overreactions each year, and some are already hitting the panic button on the Rams. But not everything we saw on Thursday night is reflective of this team's potential. Here are six overreactions to Los Angeles' lopsided loss.
The Rams are old and overrated
As
their roster is currently constructed, the Rams are the fourth-oldest team in the NFL. Some of their top players are on the wrong side of 30, with Matthew Stafford (38), Aaron Donald (35) and Davante Adams (33) all among the oldest guys on the team.
Age is not the reason the Rams looked outclassed on Thursday night, despite some suggesting this "superteam" is just old and washed. Having a young team doesn't translate to having a good team. The Dolphins and Browns are the two youngest, with the Jets and Titans also among the less experienced teams in football.
The narrative that they're overrated is also overblown. It's one game. Remember last season when the Rams scored 14 points in a narrow win over the Texans? It's much too early to make any definitive claims about Los Angeles being old and washed.
Matthew Stafford is on the decline
There's no question Stafford looked bad against the 49ers. He certainly didn't look like the MVP from a season ago, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly lost his touch as a quarterback. Like just about everyone else who sat out the preseason, he has some rust to knock off.
He'll get back to making accurate throws down the field and trusting his eyes when reading the defense rather than second-guessing and holding the ball. It doesn't help that he faced Raheem Morris, who knows Stafford from their three years together in L.A.
Morris and the Falcons stymied Stafford and the Rams last season, and he cooked up another great game plan on Thursday night as the 49ers DC.
The offense is broken
Before the final drive led by Stetson Bennett, the Rams had just 245 yards and 12 first downs. Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum all played well, but everyone else struggled in some capacity. Davante Adams was a non-factor, Terrance Ferguson saw one target (which was uncatchable) and the Rams' WR3 committee of Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield and Xavier Smith combined for 8 yards on one single catch.
The offense as a whole, however, is not broken. This is essentially the same group that led the NFL in points and yards last season. They didn't suddenly forget how to move the ball. They just had a bad day against a quality opponent that knows them intimately.
Again, the Rams scored 14 points against the Texans in Week 1 last year. It takes time to get in a rhythm.
The secondary hasn't actually improved
The Rams' secondary was one of their biggest problems last year and they addressed it by adding Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson at cornerback. Paired with Quentin Lake, Kamren Kinchens and Kam Curl, the Rams' secondary looked like one of the league's best on paper.
Then Brock Purdy came in and picked it apart, throwing for 205 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. It wasn't an All-Pro performance by any means, but Purdy did look good against what should be a very good Rams defense.
The problem for Los Angeles is the 49ers' scheme. It almost always finds a way to poke holes in the Rams' defense, no matter the players or coordinator. Chris Shula played a lot of soft zones and gave up underneath passes, which is the bread and butter of Shanahan's scheme. This was more about the game plan than the play of the DBs.
McDuffie looked great, Watson was barely targeted and for the most part, Lake held up fairly well despite being peppered with passes.
Myles Garrett wasn't worth trading for
We can confidently say Garrett's debut with the Rams went about as poorly as possible. He didn't record a single tackle or QB hit and had just one pressure in the game. He admitted afterwards that he's not 100% healthy and it was the "worst version" of himself that he's put out there. He even said he was more worried about staying healthy while he was on the field, which is never a good thing.
As concerning as the lingering knee injury is, this one game does not mean trading for Garrett was a waste. He's still an all-world pass rusher who A) isn't healthy and B) faced a team that schemed him out of the game with quick passes and runs to the other direction.
It's not time to panic after just one underwhelming game from the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
Flying to Australia late is the reason they lost
All the talk before the game and now after it has been about the Rams' travel. And for a lot of people, their criticisms have now been validated by Los Angeles' loss – in embarrassing fashion, no less. But arriving in Australia just a day before kickoff is not the reason the Rams lost.
Playing in a time zone that's 17 hours ahead isn't easy for anyone, no matter how early or late you arrive.
The Rams lost because they didn't have an answer for the 49ers' quick passing game. Sean McVay didn't come up with a good enough game plan offensively against Morris' defense, and Stafford was not sharp as a passer. It's not as if the Rams missed 15 tackles and were lazy on defense. They missed six compared to the 49ers' four.
This was just a matter of a team being rusty against a familiar opponent that has had its number for years.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 6 overreactions from Rams' season-opening loss to 49ers
