San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner posted a taunting Instagram video referencing Sean McVay’s travel comments following a 27-7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night in Melbourne, Australia. The September 11, 2026, regular-season opener highlighted stark differences in both teams’ preparation strategies for the NFL’s first-ever game in the country.
Fred Warner and 49ers Target Rams’ Travel Choices After Australia Blowout
An 11-month absence did nothing to blunt Fred Warner’s impact on the field, but his postgame activity drew just as much attention as his team-high 11 tackles. Following the San Francisco 49ers’ dominant 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Warner took to Instagram to share a clip of Rams head coach Sean McVay discussing the team’s arrival schedule. McVay had defended the team’s decision to travel to Australia just two days before kickoff, noting that the squad was well rested
prior to the contest.
Warner captioned the post Google Me
and included a carousel nod to Daejon Love, an individual previously arrested on fraud charges for falsely claiming NFL ties. The social media jab capped off a night where the 49ers’ preparation plan stood in stark contrast to their NFC West rivals. While San Francisco arrived in Australia a full week before the game, Los Angeles departed on a Tuesday and did not land until Thursday, just over 24 hours before game time.
Teammate Mike Evans joined in the postgame commentary, questioning the timeline during his press conference.
“When did they get out here? When did they get out here, seriously? … Oh, dang. You got to give your body time to adjust. Obviously, whenever the game’s scheduled, you gotta be ready to play, but maybe a few days earlier would have been ideal.”
Mike Evans, via Heavy.com
Evans added that regardless of travel schedules, the 49ers focused purely on execution. The franchise also posted a sleep tight
message on X aimed at the Rams’ travel logistics.
How Matthew Stafford and the Rams Offense Stalled Down Under
The physical toll of the quick turnaround appeared to manifest as the game wore on. Warner noted that the 49ers felt stronger as the contest progressed while their opponents faded.
“I think it was definitely a matter of us feeling like we got stronger as the game went on. The opposing team, it felt like they kinda withered away.”
Fred Warner, linebacker, via TheScore
Los Angeles initially seized a 7-3 advantage early in the second quarter before completely stalling out. The team’s final five full drives before Matthew Stafford was pulled featured an interception, a fumble, and a turnover on downs at the 1-yard line following a failed quarterback sneak. Stafford finished the night completing 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards, one interception, and a 61.2 passer rating, recording a minus-0.37 EPA per dropback—the worst single-game mark of his 85 career regular-season and playoff starts with the Rams.
The seven total points marked the lowest offensive output for Los Angeles since a Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers in 2023. Despite the extensive sleep and travel tracking data collected by 15 Rams staffers sent to Australia over the preceding two years, the preparation model failed to yield results on the field.
Sean McVay Takes the Blame While Kyle Shanahan Celebrates Strategy
Sean McVay firmly rejected the notion that travel arrangements caused the blowout defeat, pointing the finger squarely at himself.
“I don’t believe that’s why we didn’t play well enough,” head coach Sean McVay said of the team’s decision to arrive shortly before the game, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “I really don’t. … I’ll always make decisions that I think are best for the football team. It’s easy in hindsight to be able to say it was a miss, but those are responsibilities that I’ll take.”
Sean McVay, head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, via TheScore
On the opposing sideline, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan embraced the victory after improving his regular-season record to 12-8 against his former colleague. Shanahan praised the team’s deliberate approach to the international trip.
“The strategy worked. The game worked. Win or lose, I knew everyone’s going to make a big deal about that for either team. You never know how much that factors into it. You just try to do the best to prepare for three and a half hours. I like how we prepared. But more importantly, I liked how we played.”
Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, via Heavy.com
San Francisco generated 379 total yards of offense, with running backs Christian McCaffrey and Kaelon Black combining for 158 yards on 30 touches, while Brock Purdy added 205 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Rams return home to host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football
in Week 2, while the 49ers prepare to host the Miami Dolphins. The two divisional rivals will not meet again until Week 14.
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