Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay is hoping to brush off his team's lackluster season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers by not thinking about Australia -- for a very long time.
"We're not playing in Australia ever again, I hope," McVay told reporters Thursday. "Not because it wasn't a great atmosphere; that'll get taken out of context."
Though no teams are yet scheduled for a future matchup, the NFL has a multiyear agreement to return to Australia. The Rams are also one of four NFL teams, along with the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders, to hold marketing rights in Australia through the NFL's Global Markets Program. So a return trip Down Under seems likely in the Rams' future at some point.
The Rams, the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl, came out flat in a 27-7 loss to the 49ers at Melbourne Cricket Ground. One aspect of the matchup that was scrutinized was the Rams' decision to arrive the day before the game, whereas the 49ers traveled to Melbourne a week in advance. Both McVay and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan tried to downplay that factor in the aftermath.
Now McVay is trying to quickly move on to Week 2 and a "Monday Night Football" meeting with the New York Giants. Only four teams, and none since the 2007 Giants, have started the season 0-2 and gone on to play in the Super Bowl.
"It's almost like you try to do the 'Men in Black' thing where you say, 'Hey, I don't remember what happened. That was so long ago,'" McVay said Thursday.