March 31, 2026, 5:13 p.m. PT
A break in the NFL schedule doesn’t mean the rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams is over.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan in an appearance on PFT Live (h/t Ari Meirov) lobbed a shot at the Rams and head coach Sean McVay. Green Bay Packers coach Matt LeFleur said he was “pretty sure the Rams lobbied” to face the 49ers in Australia. Shanahan, who is not eager to play in Australia, agreed.
“I know for a fact they did. That’s what’s so bothersome,” Shanahan said. “So hopefully the league will do right and let us play the Rams in Mexico since we’ve got to go out of the country twice, and they requested us, I’m requesting them in Mexico. Not that that gives us an advantage. It’s just fair to make them go out of the country twice too.”
It’s not a surprise the Rams would try to avoid playing a home game against the 49ers given the raucous 49ers-friendly crowds that typically attend those games. “Levi’s South,” as some have come to refer to it, has forced the Rams to go to a silent count at home. By facing the 49ers in Australia it should dramatically limit the number of diehard 49ers fans in attendance.
Whether the 49ers are successful in their lobby to play the Rams in Mexico City remains to be seen. A report from NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan indicated the 49ers are set to host the Dolphins in their contest south of the border. That won’t be officially announced until the NFL schedule is released, so perhaps the 49ers’ attempts to make the Rams take a second jaunt outside of the country will be a success.
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