# Best Bets Thursday Night Football: 49ers-Rams

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hold-the-phone-6998059/best-bets-thursday-night-football-49ers-rams
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hold-the-phone-6998059/best-bets-thursday-night-football-49ers-rams.md
Podcast: [Hold the Phone](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hold-the-phone-6998059)
Published: 2026-09-11T03:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/mgln.ai/e/1319/clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/AFM2100532431.mp3
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/mgln.ai/e/1319/clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/AFM2100532431.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hold-the-phone-6998059/episodes/best-bets-thursday-night-football-49ers-rams
Duration seconds: 1479

## Resource

FOOTBALL IS BACK. The 2026 NFL season is officially here, and the schedule makers decided a Super Bowl rematch on Wednesday wasn’t enough chaos. Night two is an NFC West blood feud on the other side of the planet. We’re getting the Rams and 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — the first regular-season NFL game in Australia — Thursday at 8:35 p.m. ET on Netflix. More than 100,000 people packed into a cricket stadium to watch Sean McVay vs. Kyle Shanahan for the millionth time. Neutral field. Fifteen-hour flights. Friday morning kickoff local time. No warm-up. No SoFi. No Levi’s. Just two 12-5 teams who both got run over by Seattle in the playoffs last year, opening the season 8,000 miles from home. The Rams get to walk in as Super Bowl favorites. Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford has Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Kyren Williams. Myles Garrett makes his Rams debut. The defense got rebuilt on purpose. The one thing they do not have Thursday: Aaron Donald. He came out of retirement, signed, and then did not get on the plane. Shanahan said he’s never been more excited to be wrong. San Francisco is trying to start Year 10 under Shanahan with Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, plus Mike Evans in the building. Nick Bosa and George Kittle made the trip after the ACL and Achilles, but nobody knows how many snaps they actually get. Alfred Collins, the guy who forced that goal-line fumble against L.A. last year, tore his patellar tendon in Melbourne this week and is done for the season. Ricky Pearsall is already gone for the year. Last time these two played, the Rams dropped 42 on San Francisco in Santa Clara. The line opened Rams -2.5 and has been bet up to about a field goal and a half. Total sits around 48.5. L.A. is trying to look like a dynasty before Week 1 even starts. Th…

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