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· collected 2026-09-07 · by Dan Greenspan The Associated Press
Rams coach Sean McVay has chosen an unconventional travel plan for the team's season opener in Australia, with the team leaving Southern California on Tuesday night and arriving in Melbourne on Thursday, roughly 24 hours before their game against the San Francisco 49ers. The approach is based on previous experience from a similar trip to London last October, where the Rams rolled to a 35-7 win after arriving on Saturday morning for a Sunday afternoon start. McVay notes that while the plan may not be conventional, it's what he thinks is best for the team. The NFL has approved plans to play up to 10 international games per season starting in 2027, with Commissioner Roger Goodell expressing interest in having every team play one international game each year.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Sean McVay, coach of the Los Angeles Rams, has decided to travel to Australia with his team for their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, roughly 24 hours before the game. This is an unusual decision, as most teams prefer to arrive in a new time zone at least a day or two before playing a game to allow for rest and acclimation. The Rams will be playing at 10:35 a.m. local time on Friday morning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. McVay cited the team's experience traveling to London last October, where they arrived on Saturday morning for a Sunday afternoon start and won 35-7, as an influence on this decision.
Written for “Los Angeles Rams Preseason Schedule” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 6613 · logged 2026-09-07
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean McVay has never been afraid to buck conventional NFL logic, and he is doing so once again with the Los Angeles Rams’ unusual travel plans for their season opener in Australia.
asserted
he → buck → Australia
The Rams are leaving Southern California on Tuesday night and will arrive in Australia on Thursday, roughly 24 hours before their game against the San Francisco 49ers kicks off at 10:35 a.m. local time on Friday morning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
asserted
game → leave → Ground
The Niners will spend one week in Melbourne, having arrived last Friday for what is expected to be the first of several NFL regular-season games in a country and venue traditionally associated with cricket and Australian rules football.
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what → spend → cricket
“It doesn’t mean that we think we’re right and a different approach is wrong,” McVay said Sunday.
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McVay → mean → ?
“It’s just what we think is best based on the things that we’ve done and what we’ve learned over our time here.”
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we → ’ → time
McVay said the plan was influenced in part by how the Rams approached their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last October, when they arrived on Saturday morning for a Sunday afternoon start.
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they → say → start
They rolled to a comfortable 35-7 win at Wembley Stadium.
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They → roll → Stadium
However, they had already spent a week on the East Coast after playing at the Baltimore Ravens, reducing both the flight’s length and impact of adjusting to a new time zone.
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they → spend → zone
This time, the Rams will be spending approximately 15 hours in the air, albeit with lie-flat seats available to all players and coaches.
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Rams → spend → players
“I feel like we’re just keeping it as normal as we possibly can,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.
uncertain
Stafford → feel → it
We obviously have experience with doing it (in a) different direction, all that kind of stuff, I understand last year in London, but it felt like it worked out for us.”
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it → have → us
How the two NFC West foes fare in the game and in the following weeks after their contrasting routes could have teams around the league looking to copy the more successful model in years to come.
uncertain
teams → fare → years
There are nine international games scheduled this season, and NFL owners approved plans in May to play the maximum of 10 games allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement beginning in 2027.
uncertain
owners → be → 2027
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed interest in having every team play one international game each season for a total of 16.
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team → express → 16
The league already has a multi-year contract with Visit Victoria, the official state tourism company, to host games in Melbourne.
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league → have → Melbourne
With the NFL granting the Rams global marketing rights in Japan, South Korea, and China, along with being one of four teams to have marketing rights to Australia and New Zealand, this could be the first of many long road trips to Australasia or the Pacific Rim for McVay and his club.
“We’ve tested it out with some guys and we feel like it’s been positive, but that’s what went into the approach,” McVay said.
uncertain
McVay → grant → approach
Rams expect to have Nacua, Jackson for opener
The Rams expect to have star wide receiver Puka Nacua and starting left tackle Alaric Jackson available for the season opener despite being under investigation to determine if they violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy, McVay said.
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McVay → expect → policy
Jackson was arrested in June on suspicion of felony domestic violence but was not charged after the case was assigned for a pre-filing diversion.
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case → arrest → diversion
He was previously suspended two games without pay in 2024 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy,
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He → suspend → policy
