Heading into Thursday’s Week 1 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Australia, all anyone wanted to talk about was each team’s travel schedule.
The 49ers landed in Australia a full week before the game to give their bodies time to adjust and acclimate to the time difference (California is approximately 16-19 hours behind Australia).
Conversely, the Rams went with a different — and more controversial — approach. They chose to touch down in Australia the day before the game, giving themselves a little over 24 hours to get over any jet lag and play a divisional opponent at 10:30 a.m. local time.
The move backfired on the Rams, and social media wasn’t afraid to start cracking jokes at their expense — and the father of one 49ers player couldn’t help but join in.
Christian McCaffrey’s Dad Ed Mocks Rams After Blowout Loss
Most football fans remember Ed McCaffrey as the former Pro Bowl receiver for the Denver Broncos that was a part of three Super Bowl championships. But these days he’s better known as the dad of 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey (and Washington Commanders WR Luke McCaffrey).
Following the 49ers’ dominant 27-7 win over the Rams on Thursday, Ed took to social media to have a little fun at L.A.’s expense, mocking his son’s division rival for showing up the day before the game and not spending any time in the Australian community like the 49ers did.
“The Niners showed up for Australia. The Rams flew in for a game. One week. One win. A whole lot of new mates. They didn’t just win Down Under. They won over Down Under. #FTTB: Faithful To The Bay & Now Faithful To The Bush. ❤️💛🇦🇺,” Ed posted on X.
49ers Players Also Threw Shade at Rams’ Travel Plan
During their postgame media availability, several 49ers players didn’t pass up the opportunity to tease their fallen rivals, who seemingly fell victim to exhaustion and didn’t seem as prepared as their Bay Area counterparts were.
“Oh, they got here yesterday? Oh, dang…25 hours,” WR Mike Evans, who caught 6 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, joked. “You’ve got to give your body time to adjust. Obviously, whenever the game’s scheduled, you’ve got to be ready to play. Maybe a few days earlier would have been ideal, but 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.”
WR Deebo Samuel, who had 6 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown, added: “I love when [the Rams] came out and they were booing. We were out here for a week. We enjoyed the city. I don’t think you can fly 16 hours and be ready to play.”
Christian McCaffrey’s Dad Savagely Trolls Rams After 49ers Beatdown in Australia