The Los Angeles Rams will be the subject of jokes and commentary for at least the next week, and San Francisco 49ers stars Fred Warner and Mike Evans–and even the team–got in on the fun at LA’s expense.
“When did they get out here?” Evans asked with a smile during his postgame press conference following the 49ers’ 27-7 drubbing in Week 1.
“When did they get out here, seriously?
Upon receiving an answer, Evans said, “Oh, dang. You got to give your body time to adjust. Obviously, whenever the game’s scheduled, you got to be ready to play. But maybe a few days earlier would have been ideal.
“No matter what, we don’t care if they came a week or two weeks earlier. We had it on our mind to come out here and execute, and we did that.”
Evans finished with six receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown in his 49ers debut.
49ers Roast Rams After Season-Opening Gut Check
Evans’ line against the Rams nearly matched teammate Deebo Samuel, who returned to San Francisco in free agency this past offseason. The Rams surrendered 379 yards of offense to the 49ers on Thursday night.
That would have tied for eighth-most for LA last season. The Rams were 4-3 in those games, but they have gotten off to an unfortunate start in 2026.
The 49ers are not letting them off the hook, posting “sleep tight” on X, a dig at LA’s travel plans.
Warner, who surpassed predecessor and Hall of Famer Patrick Willis for the top spot in franchise history in tackles during the game, shared a clip of Daejon Love, the individual whom federal authorities arrested on fraud charges after he lied about being in the NFL.
Love is, of course, most famous for lying about being on the 49ers. But to the victor go the spoils, and that was Evans, Warner, and the 49ers, not the Rams.
Warner led both teams with 11 total tackles on the night.
Kyle Shanahan Takes Victory Lap
With the win, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan improved to 12-8 during the regular season against his former colleague and friend, Rams head coach Sean McVay. McVay is 1-0 in the playoffs against Shanahan.
Still, it was Shanahan who got to take a victory lap after the game on Thursday about, among other things, their travel plan.
“The strategy worked. The game worked,” Shanahan told reporters postgame. “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.”
McVay denied thinking the Rams’ approach to traveling to Australia was the reason for their loss.
Instead, he focused the blame on himself. Regardless, McVay and the Rams will sit with this for some time. They do not play again until facing the New York Giants in LA on “Monday Night Football.”
Moreover, their next opportunity to prove they are the superior team against the 49ers is not until Week 14.
NBS 5’s Cam Inman called this matchup the “beatdown down under.”
Fred Warner, Mike Evans Troll Rams After 49ers Deliver ‘Beatdown Down Under’