Rams say travel isn't to blame for their Melbourne debacle. If so, that suggests bigger problems

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Before Sean McVay jumped on his second 15-hour flight in less than two days, he insisted the Los Angeles Rams ’ unorthodox travel plan for Australia wasn’t the reason his Super Bowl-contending team took a thrashing from the San Francisco 49ers in its season opener.

If the coach is right, that's actually more dismaying and concerning than the other scenario.

That means the Rams were completely unprepared to face their most familiar foe. That means their high-priced, star-studded roster couldn't execute, communicate or perform at a level to even keep it close with the Niners, a strong team still considered to be only third best in the NFC West.

That means McVay's Rams (0-1), who never accomplish much in the preseason anyway, still have heaps of work to do following their 27-7 defeat Friday. It was the second-worst loss by a Super Bowl betting favorite to open a season and the Rams' first loss in an international game under McVay.

“Sometimes sports can humble you, and today was one of those days,” McVay said. “I make no excuses. Whether you want to say it’s travel, whatever, we just weren’t good enough in that window. I didn’t coach good enough. We’ll get it. We’ll move forward.”

Los Angeles was embarrassed in front of 100,021 eager fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground who didn't get to see the production expected from McVay's offense, which led the NFL in scoring and yards per game last season. In fact, the Rams had never scored fewer points in any game started by Matthew Stafford over the past six years.

The Rams all refused to blame the travel schedule chosen by McVay, who clearly shares most coaches' quiet disdain for the routine-disrupting international trips undertaken to expose football to lucrative new audiences.

“I don’t doubt the decision-making of my coach or my organization,” Myles Garrett said. “I think they did what was best for us. We didn’t execute on the field when we needed to.”

The larger sports world was not as charitable, with McVay and the Rams taking massive criticism in Australia and online for attempting to turn the longest road trip in NFL history into a shuttle flight. Several 49ers, including touchdown-scoring receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, said their team had been much smarter by arriving a week in advance.

But if the Rams are correct in saying the travel didn't matter, they're in a difficult spot — because McVay doesn't lose season openers often, but when he does, they're pretty bad.

The Rams are now 7-3 in openers under McVay, and this trouncing on an international stage joins their 31-10 home loss to Buffalo in 2022 to kick off the worst season by a defending champion in NFL history. Los Angeles also lost at Detroit in 2024 to begin McVay's only 1-4 start to a season.

The Rams' running game worked better than it did for long stretches last season. Blake Corum rushed for 54 yards on just 10 carries, while Kyren Williams scored the first NFL touchdown in Australia.

The Rams' revamped defense was embarrassed by Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy and the San Francisco offense, which racked up 379 yards and put the game away with a 99-yard touchdown drive. The flaws were multifold, but coordinator Chris Shula's unit wasn't ready for an opponent that has done this to the Rams repeatedly for a decade.

Big-money cornerback Trent McDuffie was as good as expected in his debut, making four tackles and two pass breakups while delivering the shutdown coverage expected. The apparent struggles of Quentin Lake and Kam Kinchens in coverage could make it wise to move McDuffie around the field more.

Stafford was ineffective in the first game after his MVP season, going 15 of 25 for just 155 yards with an interception — and no touchdown passes in a regular-season game for the first time since 2024. San Francisco defensive coordinator Raheem Morris knows Stafford very well, and the 38-year-old quarterback admitted he didn't meet the challenge.

Garrett's knee injury is more serious than he let on, and he still played 62% of the snaps after playing about 82% for Cleveland last year. Ten days of recovery should be helpful, but the Rams need their new superstar in top form. ... S Kam Curl left early with an ankle injury. ... TE Davis Allen was evaluated for a concussion.

42 — The number of consecutive games in which the Rams had scored at least 10 points before Melbourne.

The Rams have ample time to recover before the New York Giants' visit to Inglewood for a Monday night game on Sept. 21. A bounceback performance against a rebuilding opponent seems vital — and it could be the night when Aaron Donald returns.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) leaves the field after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Fans watch during the second half of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Scott Barbour)

Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake (37) and cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) celebrate after Lake intercepted a pass against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half of an NFL football game in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches before an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, remembering the shock, the dead and the sweeping consequences of the al-Qaida attacks on symbols of U.S. might and prosperity.

The milestone anniversary brought memorial rituals — wreath-laying, flag-flying, moments of silence, vigils and readings of victims' names — and volunteer projects in tribute to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as the most historic event of their lifetime, according to a new poll. On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Elsie Caldwell carried a photograph of her son Kenny Caldwell to the trade center to hear his name and all the others read aloud Friday morning. She last spoke to him that morning a quarter-century ago.

“Mom, I just want to let you know that I love you,” her son told her in a final phone call, she recalled. His remains, like those of many other victims, have never been recovered.

The attacks brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers — icons of U.S. economic power, and among the tallest buildings on Earth — and blew a hole in the Pentagon, the U.S. military's fortresslike headquarters near Washington. The fourth plane was headed for Washington, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers.

“Sept. 11 reminded us of the terrible power of hate,” President Donald Trump said Friday at the Pentagon’s anniversary ceremony.

“The 25 years since have shown us the even greater power of the American spirit to endure and prevail, and to win,” added the Republican, who was in his native New York on 9/11.

Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on 9/11, attended the observance at the National Sept. 11 Memorial in New York, along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and current Vice President JD Vance. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wiped away a tear as he revisited the place where the attacks killed 658 of his colleagues — including his brother, Gary Lutnick — at the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum laid a wreath at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania after hailing the courage of the plane's passengers and crew: “The actions they took should inspire us all.”

For Angilic Casalduc, attending the New York commemoration “helps to show you’re not alone.” She lost her mother, Vivian Casalduc.

“There’s no timeline for grief, and unfortunately, no one can say how you can grieve, but coming here once a year makes it feel just a little bit better,” she said.

Traditionally, there are no political speeches at the ground zero commemoration, where victims' relatives read aloud the long list of names and added personal messages. They thanked first responders and the military, invoked religious faith, appealed for national unity and touched on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. The kingdom was the homeland of most of the hijackers but denied any involvement in the attacks.

Mostly, relatives spoke of, and to, loved ones — whom some were too young to remember.

“You dreamed my whole life for me, and you only got eight months of it,” said Trisha Pakkala, who lost her mother, Deepa Pakkala.

Kiersten Haub, who was 16 months old when the attacks killed her father, firefighter Michael Helmut Haub, said: “I carry you through every milestone.”

Besides moments of silence at key points in the attack timeline, this year's ceremony added another moment to honor people who were exposed to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers’ fiery collapse and have since died of cancer and other illnesses. Questions remain about how many people developed health problems linked to the dust.

It's a reminder of how the attacks' long shadow has reached into many corners of life in the U.S. and beyond.

The U.S.-led global war on terrorism included invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — the latter Washington's longest war — and detentions and harsh interrogation of terror suspects in an international network of secret CIA prisons. The U.S. found and killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, but the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed still awaits a trial 23 years after his capture.

The attacks changed U.S. air travel, led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, prompted new federal surveillance and intelligence-gathering powers and banking regulations and generated ongoing debate over the balance between security and freedom.

Sept. 11 engendered a culture of individual vigilance summed up by the slogan, “ If you see something, say something,” while a wave of patriotism propelled some Americans to join the military, fire departments and police forces.

Casey Kloepfer was 4 when his father, police Officer Ronald Kloepfer, was killed at the trade center. The son became an officer himself this June, wearing his dad's badge number.

“It’s big footsteps to fill, but it’s definitely something that I take very seriously and want to continue to honor him and be the best police officer I can,” he said by phone this week.

Amid the post-9/11 calls to service and appeals for national unity, the attacks also fanned mistrust, prejudice and hate crimes directed at Muslims.

In the quarter-century since, Muslim Americans have played a growing role in public life from statehouses to Congress to New York City Hall, where Zohran Mamdani is the city's first Muslim mayor. Yet he faced some criticism for attending the anniversary ceremony at ground zero.

Republican ex-Gov. George Pataki and 9/11 victims’ relatives cited, among other things, past remarks that some of Mamdani's political associates have made about the attacks. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, also opposed Mamdani's attendance, though the two shook hands there Friday.

Mamdani, a Democrat, said this week he loves the city and country and that he wanted the anniversary to focus on victims’ families, first responders and New Yorkers who helped one another after the attacks, which he called a “horrific act of terror.” The 34-year-old mayor was an elementary school student in New York on 9/11.

One victim's son and namesake, Michael Massaroli, used his time at the podium Friday to deplore people “using this tragedy to spread hate” against Muslims and others.

“That’s wrong, and that does no honor to the victims here,” he said.

Remembrances extended far from the attack sites, including beams of light projected from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, a stair climb at Mississippi State University’s football stadium and a ceremony at Honolulu’s 9/11 memorial.

Sept. 11 isn't a federal holiday, but Congress has designated it both Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“One appropriate way to remember is by serving,” said Jay Winuk, who lost his brother Glenn Winuk and then co-founded the organization 9/11 Day with friend David Paine. The group coordinates volunteer opportunities and this year arranged for dozens of Times Square billboards to pause their advertising at 9:11 a.m. Friday.

Instead, they simply displayed the time.

Associated Press journalists Michael R. Sisak, Anthony Izaguirre and Julie Walker contributed.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, and other officials, watch as the flag is unfurled at the Pentagon, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Visitors to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., attend an observance, Friday, Sept.11, 2026, as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York City firefighters march near the memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

People attend a memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani observes the memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray, Pool)

Firefighters walk across the Brooklyn Bridge on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

The memorial is seen on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

People listen to the U.S. national anthem at the memorial on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray, Pool)

People join their hands as they pray for Father Mychal Judge during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Jeenah Moon, Pool Photo via AP)

A law enforcement officer stands during a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Jeenah Moon, Pool Photo via AP)

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, passes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani ahead of a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Barry Williams /The Daily News via AP, Pool)

Service members unfurl a flag on the 25th anniversary over the portion of the Pentagon's west side that was struck by an airliner hijacked by terrorist, on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Arlington Va. (AP Photo/John McDonnell

Rosanne Spirito, 49, and daughters Sabrina, 22, and Amanda, 20, who lost their sister Catherine Lisa LoGuidice, stand at a reflecting pool on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray, Pool)

Service members unfurl a flag on the 25th anniversary over the portion of the Pentagon's west side that was struck by an airliner hijacked by terrorist, on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Arlington Va. (AP Photo/John McDonnell

Members of the New York Fire Department and New York Police Department rehearse ahead of memorial observances on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, at the site of the World Trade Center on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 in New York.

Members of New York Police Department carry a US flag ahead of memorial observances on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, at the site of the World Trade Center on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 in New York. (Olga Fedorova/Pool Photo via AP)

Phillip Flood, 48, watches as the Tribute in Light is tested over the skyline of lower Manhattan, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Jersey City, NJ. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, center, speaks to FDNY commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, right, during a memorial to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in the Staten Island borough of New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Members of the FDNY march with flags during a memorial to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in the Staten Island borough of New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

An American flag flies, with the lower Manhattan skyline in background, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Jersey City, NJ. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)