The Rams’ flight to Melbourne landed on Thursday morning local time, which left them with about 28 hours to acclimate to Australia before their game against the 49ers gets underway.
The choice to arrive so close to the game — the 49ers have been in Melbourne for days — has been scrutinized all week, but head coach Sean McVay said at a press conference after arriving that he thinks his team will be ready to go when it is time to kick things off.
“Flight was great,” McVay said, via Olivia Garvey of NBC Los Angeles. “We’re well rested, we feel good. It really was. Matthew [Stafford] and I were just talking about that on the way over here. Able to sleep through the night, guys were comfortable, they seem fresh. Get a good night rest tonight and be ready to rock tomorrow.”
In addition to giving one team an early boost in the NFC West race, the difference in the approaches to the game will make the result a referendum on how teams should plan for trips to play in any future Australian games.