Brock Purdy has led the San Francisco 49ers to an upset 27-7 win over their rival Los Angeles Rams, as Melbourne turned it on for the historic first NFL regular-season clash Down Under.
A massive crowd of 100,021 fans packed a sold-out MCG on Friday, with Australia’s largest stadium bathed in brilliant spring sunshine throughout the contest.
It was the second-highest international attendance in NFL history and the league’s seventh-biggest regular-season crowd of all-time.
Thousands more filled venues across the road at Melbourne Park for the NFL Kickoff Festival.
Fans flooded the MCG and Yarra Park precinct hours before kick-off despite the unusual 10.35am start time, set so the game could be broadcast in prime time in the United States.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t surprised by the huge turnout, telling Netflix’s broadcast that he’s “never met a culture that loves sports more than this”.
“We always had a high expectation that this would be successful. This exceeded it in every way,” Goodell said.
“Think about this: We’re on Friday at 10.30 in the morning and 100,000 people are going to be in a stadium watching an NFL game.
“That speaks volumes about the passion of these fans.”
KYREN WILLIAMS WITH THE FIRST TD IN MELBOURNE 🇦🇺
SFvsLAR on Netflix pic.twitter.com/CjFycKPGBm
— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2026
The Rams were the nominal “home” team but San Francisco was heavily favoured in the stands, and 49ers quarterback Purdy starred in the fierce NFC West rivals’ season opener.
Purdy completed 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, while wide receiver Mike Evans caught six passes for 49 yards and one touchdown.
It was an early-season horror show for the Super Bowl favourite Rams, with quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing one interception while completing 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards.
The two teams took different paths on the longest road trip in NFL history and the Rams, who arrived from California just 28 hours before kick-off, took time to get moving in their attempted hit-and-run mission.
They fell behind to Eddy Pinerio’s 20-yard field goal before Stafford’s 41-yard pass to Puka Nacua got LA in position late in the first quarter.
Kyren Williams finished the drive off with a five-yard run into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter.
But the Niners led 10-7 at halftime after Purdy connected on a deep strike, finding Demarcus Robinson for a 39-yard touchdown.
After the Jonas Brothers’ brief halftime show appearance, San Francisco’s advantage grew to 17-7 early in the third quarter with Purdy’s two-yard pass to Evans.
The Niners’ defence held firm when they stopped Stafford’s attempt to run the ball over from the one-year line on fourth down and Purdy put the Niners out of reach when he scrambled to complete a 99-yard drive with a 15-yard pass to Deebo Samuel for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
The Jonas Brothers provided half-time entertainment for the packed crowd. Photo: AAP
Before the game, former AFL and NFL star Ben Graham – the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl, in 2009 – said the atmosphere was reminiscent of the biggest week on the American league’s calendar.
“Walking the streets of Melbourne this week, it feels like Super Bowl week. There are jerseys being represented from every team in the NFL,” Graham said on Seven.
“There’ll be hundreds of thousands of people that just come to Melbourne this week and not even come to the game.
“But it is a sight to behold and this is only the sign of things to come because they continue to want to grow the game internationally.”
The NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia is expected to pump $300 million into the Victorian economy.
At least one more game will be played in Melbourne under the existing four-year agreement, while the fight amongst other states for a slice of the action will ramp up after the successful first edition.
The Rams-49ers clash was the first of a record nine international NFL games to be played this season.
–AAP
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