Okay, so get this: the NFL just dropped a wild card on us with the 49ers and Rams playing in Melbourne, Australia. But the *real* story? How these two teams are handling that ridiculous trip. The Rams, under head coach Sean McVay, landed in Melbourne on Thursday morning, literally the day before their game kicks off Friday at 10:35 a.m. local time. Like, seriously? That’s 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 10, for us back home, and they’re only planning to spend one night there before jetting back. Melbourne is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles, by the way. Talk about a whirlwind.
McVay’s “Business Trip” Gamble: Will It Pay Off?
McVay isn’t exactly making a secret of his minimalist approach to international travel. He admitted late in training camp that players have a “loose idea” of the schedule, saying, “I want to be able to talk to them about it, but we’re leaving later than most people would probably expect.” No kidding! This isn’t a new tactic for him either. Last year, the Rams pulled a similar stunt. They stayed in Baltimore for a week after beating the Ravens in Week 6, then flew straight to London for a Sunday game where they stomped the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7. All told, they spent just over 30 hours in London for what McVay called a “business trip.” You gotta wonder if this tight schedule, with barely any time to adjust to a massive time difference, is truly the best strategy for peak performance.
Shanahan’s Science-Backed Strategy for the Win
The 49ers, on the other hand, are on a completely different planet when it comes to travel prep. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and his squad traveled to Australia last Thursday, arriving last Friday. Yeah, you read that right: a whole week before the game. They’re actually holding practices there, getting acclimated to Melbourne, and letting their bodies adjust. Shanahan told reporters before the trip that it’s “a big adjustment on the body,” and that “science wasn’t” on the fence about the best approach, even if he initially was. His players definitely weren’t, and that helped him make the call. Edge rusher Keion White even joked about trying to “OD on melatonin” on the 16-hour flight to maximize sleep. That’s a team taking recovery seriously!
The Sleep Expert Who Helped the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks Weighs In
So, who’s got the edge in this international showdown? I asked Dr. Cheri Mah, a Stanford University sleep expert who knows a thing or two about athletic performance. This is big, because Dr. Mah actually helped establish a sleep curriculum with our own Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks for four years! She’s also worked with the Philadelphia Eagles during their Super Bowl season in 2017 and recently prepped Memphis head coach Charles Huff for a late kickoff victory. Dr. Mah stresses that sleep is one of the most important things for an athlete’s recovery, calling it an investment and the start of a new day. She looks at every trip with preflight, in-flight, and post-flight strategies. So, when you look at these two wildly different approaches, you have to think one team is putting themselves in a far better position to win. This Friday’s game is going to tell us everything.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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