Football in the Land of Oz: 49ers vs. Rams — NFL Expert Picks & Predictions (9/10)
Written by: Varun Sharma
Last Update: Tue Sep 08, 2026, 3:32 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
nfl
Spread
Total
Moneyline
+4.0
-110
48
-110u
+180
Spread
Total
Moneyline
-3.5
-110
48.0
-105o
-185
First Thursday Night of the 2026 NFL Season and it's kicking off in Australia. The NFL's International Series continues with a NFC West Battle down in the land of Oz and I couldn't be more excited to talk about this one.
We've got two teams that finished with 12+ wins last year, two teams full of talent and two coaches approaching this game in vastly different ways.
Let's not waste anymore time, let's jump right into Thursday Night's big game.
For additional information on picks, props, moneylines, and more on today's slate, take a look at our NFL Picks Page or our NFL Odds Page.
Game Information
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Matchup Information
- Location: The Melbourne Cricket Ground; Melbourne, Australia
- Date: Thursday, September 10th, 2026
- Kickoff: 8:35 PM EST
Quarterback Matchup
- San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy (2025: 7-2; 258.5 YPG | 20 TD | 10 INT)
- Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford (2025: 14-3; 254.1 YPG | 35 TD | 12 INT)
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Sleepless in Australia
The Rams and 49ers are not only playing a football game on Thursday Night, but they're simultaneously running two separate experiments on circadian rhythm and jet lag.
The game kicks off at 8:35 PM EST, but 10:35 AM AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time). Both team are approaching the travel, jet lag and time difference in different ways. The Rams are essentially trying to keep their bodies on PST, while the 49ers are doing their best to convert to Australian time.
The 49ers arrived a week before kickoff. The team's practicing in the morning to help acclimate to the game time and their belief is the more time you have to adjust; the better. This is the exact strategy we see from most teams and it's why Sean McVay's approach with the Rams stands out.
The Rams will practice through Tuesday in Los Angeles. They'll then get on the 15/16 hour flight to Melbourne, arriving Thursday morning with less than 24-hours to kick off. This isn't some hair-brained scheme, the Rams tested this during the offseason.
Los Angeles reportedly sent staff members to Melbourne to make this exact trip and tested how the jet lag effected each staff member. The thought process behind this approach is essentially; I'm going to play before my body realizes what happened.
Kickoff in Melbourne is at 10:35 AM, which is 5:35 PM PST; essentially regular time for kickofff on Thursday nights.
I'm all the way locked in on this matchup, but the added science is just icing on the cake for me.
Battle of the West; Down Under
The 49ers and Rams played two unbelievable games last year and this year should be no different. The two teams combined for 117 points in two games, each team won on the road and Brock Purdy missed both games.
This year Purdy's healthy and looking to set the tone in this division early. Everyone wants to talk about the Rams and all the additions they made to this defense in the offseason, but the 49ers are healthy again and still loaded with talent.
Purdy played just 9 games, he was 7th in pass yards per game, threw 20 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and finished the year with the 2nd best completion rate. He was great, when he was on the field.
On the other side, we've got the reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford and a reloaded Rams' defense. The team traded for both Trent McDuffie and Myles Garrett in the offseason.
If that wasn't enough, the team went and convinced Aaron Donald to come out of retirement and signed McDuffie's former Chiefs' running mate; Jaylen Watson.
The Rams' are currently the Vegas favorite to lift the Lombardi Trophy and it's because of good this defense looks; on paper.
Thursday Night's Best Bets
Los Angeles Rams -3.5 (-110) | Lucky Rebel
First Thursday night game of the year and I'm putting my money on chalk. The Los Angeles Rams not only reloaded this defense in the offseason, but they're bringing back almost 100% of their offense from last year.
This is the same offense that ranked 1st in points per game (30.5), 1st in passing yards, 2nd in yards per play and 7th in redzone efficiency. They put up a ton of points every single week and I don't see why that stops this year.
Matthew Stafford's coming off his first ever MVP award and he did it at 38 years old. He threw for 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns and finished the year with a passer rating of 109.2. He was incredible and so was his receiving core.
Davante Adams lead the league in receiving touchdowns, Puka lead the league in receptions/receiving yards and Kyren Williams continues to get better with each passing year. This offense is just loaded and this defense got better.
Lastly, I just believe in Sean McVay a lot more. McVay's 3-0 in international games and the Rams have a average margin of victory of 25 points. They're not just winning these games, they are dominating them.
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