The Los Angeles Rams opened their season with a 27-7 defeat at Melbourne Cricket Ground, falling to 0-1 on a historic stage for the NFL. Before 100,000 fans at the league’s first regular-season game in Australia, Los Angeles scored its fewest points since November 2023 and took its first double-digit loss since November 2024.
What happened
The season opener brought the NFL’s regular season to Australia for the first time, with Melbourne Cricket Ground hosting a crowd of 100,000, according to the Associated Press. The Rams finished the occasion with seven points and a 20-point defeat.
That result gave Los Angeles an opening loss in a game distinguished by both its location and its scale. For the Rams, the immediate story was the distance between the expectations they carried into the season and the performance reflected in the final score.
Why it matters
Los Angeles entered the season as the preseason Super Bowl favorite, according to the AP. Its first result was a decisive defeat, leaving the Rams to begin their season at 0-1.
One game does not determine whether those expectations will be met, but the opener supplies an early setback. The concern is not simply that Los Angeles lost: the margin and scoring total each reached a threshold the team had avoided since at least 2024.
By the numbers
The 27-7 score produced a 20-point margin, making this the Rams’ first double-digit defeat since November 2024. Their seven points were their fewest in a game since November 2023, a separate measure of how sharply the opener departed from their more recent results.
The attendance figure was 100,000 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. That crowd accompanied a league milestone, while the Rams’ scoring total and losing margin marked unwelcome benchmarks for Los Angeles.
What to watch next
The immediate question is how Los Angeles responds after opening with its lowest scoring output since November 2023. Improving on seven points will be central to any assessment of that response.
The Rams also begin the next stage of their season seeking their first win. Their preseason standing remains the backdrop, but the next result will offer another measure of whether the Melbourne defeat was an isolated setback.