The San Francisco 49ers play a real NFL game today (September 10, in the States).
The team has traveled to Melbourne, Australia, to take on the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West divisional showdown to kick off their season.
It’s the first-ever NFL game in Australia, so neither team really knows how to travel/adjust/practice like they usually would for a regular game in either Santa Clara or Los Angeles.
Ahead of the Rams game on Thursday night (Friday morning in Australia), the 49ers are being accused by an NFL analyst of overthinking the travel logistics.
Did the 49ers Get the Travel Logistics Right??
Yahoo Sports contributor and NFL analyst Kevin O’Connor recently stated that the 49ers completely overthought their travel route over to Australia.
“49ers overthought it leaving so early. No reason to adjust time zones for a 10am local game. Rams played this right and will be playing that game at a “normal” time for their bodies.”
O’Connor left the comment under an X post of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan seemingly being a little bit confused about what the date was that they were traveling.
@PSchrags then provided some clarity on the time zone situation by writing:
“The Rams are all in for the night. It’s 9:45 PM in Melbourne. They slept on the flight over and will sleep now in the hotel for one night and they’ll wake up and play a football game in 12 hours. This isn’t some trial and error approach. They’ve sent 15 staffers over last 2 years and have tracked their bodies and sleep rhythms. This was deemed the approach. No turning back now.”
It’s 9:45 PM in Melbourne. They slept on the flight over and will sleep now in the hotel for one night and they’ll wake up and play a football game in 12 hours.
This isn’t some trial and error approach. They’ve sent 15 staffers over last 2
It will be interesting to see how these travel plans affect the 49ers in the first game of their season.
Australian personality Andrew Brown shared his opinion on the matter as well, siding with the Los Angeles Rams’ way about traveling across the Pacific Ocean.
“Unpopular opinion, but as an Aussie living in Southern California who has done LAX-Australia dozens of times… the @RamsNFL ‘s strategy of arriving the day before their game is spot on. They rest/sleep on the 15-hour flight on Tuesday night in a very comfortable lie-flat bed on Qantas A380. Land Thursday morning Oz Time feeling pretty fresh. Push through the day, light training. Early night. Wake up Friday feeling great. Play ball.”
Taking a Closer Look at the 49ers Side of Things Ahead of Rams Game
The San Francisco 49ers appear to be mostly healthy ahead of their Week 1 matchup vs. the Rams.
Newcomer Mike Evans has not been listed on the injury report, and other star players like Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, and De’Zhaun Stribling are all good to go.
However, the one injury decision the 49ers are waiting on is George Kittle, who is with the team and has been a limited participant in practice this week, but his official game status has yet to be revealed. That said, it’s expected that George Kittle will suit up on Thursday evening.
San Francisco 49ers Accused of Overthinking Travel to Australia For Rams Game