From Newsweek · Matthew Couden · · 1m 20s
Stephen A. Smith's wild reason for snubbing the 49ers
The ESPN host left San Francisco out of his top five despite their dominant win over the Rams in Australia.
In brief
The ESPN host left San Francisco out of his top five despite their dominant win over the Rams in Australia. Stephen A. Smith excluded the 49ers from his top five because their season opener was played in Australia, citing travel considerations. Originally reported by Newsweek.
49ers dominate Rams in Australia
San Francisco crushed Los Angeles 27-7 in Melbourne. Brock Purdy threw three touchdowns while the Rams managed just 128 passing yards.
Stephen A. left them out
Despite the dominant win, Smith excluded the 49ers from his top five NFL teams. His colleagues were surprised by the omission.
His reason: they played in Australia
Smith said the game location mattered because teams flew across the ocean. The Rams arrived just 28 hours before kickoff.
“Because they was in Australia. You're flying across the ocean. I gotta take that into consideration!”
Smith's actual top five teams
Seattle topped his list, followed by Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Chicago. The Bears scored 59 points in their opener.
Travel plans were very different
The 49ers arrived in Australia nearly a week early. The Rams got there just over a day before the game.
Rams had bigger problems than jet lag
Los Angeles was hyped as a superteam after adding Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie. Aaron Donald unretired but didn't play, and Garrett is now on injured reserve.
The headline
Stephen A. Smith excluded the 49ers from his top five because their season opener was played in Australia, citing travel considerations.
