Rams' nightmare trip: Sean McVay doesn't want to play in Australia ever again after ugly Week 1 plan backfired

The Rams arrived in Melbourne one day before their Week 1 game and suffered a 27-7 loss to the 49ers

Sep 18, 2026 at 11:12 am ET • 3 min read

The Los Angeles Rams' trip to Australia in Week 1 was such a nightmare that Sean McVay never wants to go back. 

The Rams created a bold travel plan for the game, and it totally backfired. McVay's team arrived in Melbourne just one day before the game, which didn't give the players enough time to adjust to the 17-hour time difference and it showed. The Rams got run off the field in a 27-7 loss to the 49ers. 

During a press conference on Thursday, McVay was asked how his team has processed the Week 1 loss. He would prefer forget the Australia game ever happened. 

"I want to see us be present right now and move forward," McVay said. "That game is so far. … It's almost like you try to do the 'Men in Black' thing where you say, 'Hey, I don't remember what happened. That was so long ago.'"

The "Men in Black" thing McVay is referring to is the Neuralyzer that the agents use to wipe your mind. Not only does McVay want his mind wiped of all memories of the game, but he also doesn't want to make any new memories in Australia because he never wants to play there again. 

"We're not playing in Australia ever again, I hope," McVay said. "Not because it wasn't a great atmosphere, that'll get taken out of context."

To be fair, there's not much to take out of context here: McVay simply doesn't want to play in Australia ever again, and by publicly stating that fact, he's probably hoping the NFL will take that into account when creating future schedules. 

Why the league might not be happy with McVay's comments

The problem with McVay's wish is that the Rams hold the international marketing rights in Australia, so the NFL could certainly send them Down Under again in the future. 

The good news for the Rams is that there are three other teams that hold marketing rights in Australia -- the Eagles, Seahawks and Raiders -- so the NFL might look to send one of those teams for the next game that's sent Down Under (and there will definitely be another game).

It's not clear yet if the Australia game will be an annual thing, but the NFL has already said there will be future games. The NFL commissioner made that clear during an interview back in April. 

"There's no question that we're going to be playing here again," Roger Goodell said of playing Australia. "Our view is that we're coming here for the long term. We don't come as a one-off. This isn't a circus. This is something that's an investment in this market, and we believe that this is long-term and will be great for the NFL long-term."

The NFL originally agreed to a multi-year partnership with Melbourne, so that's likely where any future games would be played. However, the league did consider both Sydney and Perth for hosting before settling on Melbourne, so it's possible the NFL could switch locations at some point, but it would still be in Australia. 

With the league planning future games in Australia, the NFL likely wasn't thrilled to hear McVay say that he never wants to play there again. Maybe the NFL should give the Rams another crack at a game Down Under just so they can try a different travel plan. 

Either way, McVay and the Rams will officially be looking to put Australia behind them this week. Los Angeles will look to rebound from its Week 1 loss with a home win over the New York Giants on Monday night.