49ers Send Seahawks Warning as Rams Show They're Human

The Seahawks got exactly what they wanted Thursday night … until they saw who gave it to them.

Los Angeles looked beatable, which should be encouraging for a Seattle team trying to defend the NFC West. The problem is San Francisco looked every bit as dangerous as the Rams were supposed to be.

The 49ers dismantled Los Angeles 27-7 in Melbourne, turning one of Seattle's biggest NFC West threats into the victim while making a convincing case that another belongs right alongside it.

One ugly night in Australia shouldn't erase what the Rams have on paper. The circumstances surrounding the game were unusual — Los Angeles arrived in Melbourne roughly 28 hours before kickoff, while San Francisco had spent about a week in Australia.

Sean McVay didn't use that as an excuse afterward, and nobody evaluating the Rams should, either. They still looked human.

Matthew Stafford threw for 155 yards and an interception. Los Angeles scored once, went 2-of-9 on third down and finished with 290 total yards. Its star-studded defense didn't have many answers for Brock Purdy, either.

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That's where the good news for Seattle ends.

A healthy 49ers roster looks capable of making the NFC West much more complicated than a race between Seattle and Los Angeles. Nick Bosa and Fred Warner were back, Christian McCaffrey rushed for 68 yards on just 10 carries and Purdy completed 25 of 34 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns without taking a sack.

And then there's Mike Evans …

Turns out Mike Evans is still Mike Evans.

The 33-year-old caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown in his San Francisco debut. Three of those catches moved the chains on third down during the 49ers' opening possession, giving Purdy another proven target in an offense that already had enough ways to create problems.

San Francisco might have made an equally important addition on the sideline.

Raheem Morris' first game as the 49ers' defensive coordinator came against a franchise he knows well. Morris served as the Rams' defensive coordinator from 2021-23 — including their Super Bowl LVI championship season — before eventually finding his way to San Francisco.

His debut ended with Los Angeles scoring seven points.

Morris had extensive familiarity with McVay and the Rams, so one performance isn't enough to declare San Francisco's defense fixed. The next four months will answer that question, but Thursday was one hell of a first impression.

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That's what should matter to Seattle.

The Seahawks didn't need the Rams to look invincible entering 2026, and Thursday proved they aren't. What Seattle also didn't need was San Francisco rediscovering the version of itself that can make the NFC West miserable.

Bosa and Warner are healthy again. McCaffrey still looks dangerous. Evans gives Purdy another proven target, and Morris just opened his tenure by suffocating one of the league's most accomplished offenses.

So, yes … the Rams can bleed.

The problem for Seattle is the 49ers were the ones who drew the blood.

Maybe Los Angeles rebounds and Thursday becomes nothing more than an ugly night on the other side of the world. Maybe San Francisco's health doesn't cooperate for an entire season. September leaves plenty of room for both possibilities, and Seattle can't afford to count on either.

The Seahawks entered 2026 knowing the NFC West wasn't going to hand them anything. Thursday made the Rams look a little less intimidating … and the 49ers a whole lot harder to ignore.

Seattle didn't watch one obstacle disappear in Melbourne.

It watched another one announce itself.