49ers pass Rams test with flying colors now comes the hard part

Beating the runaway Super Bowl favorites was the easy part.It didn’t necessarily have to look as simple as Kyle Shanahan made it appear in the 49ers’ 27-7 stomping of the Rams to begin their season in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday night.But it was absolutely the bare minimum.Linebacker Fred Warner said it felt like their opponents “withered away” as the game went on, and who could be surprised given the Rams had spent 16 of the previous 44 hours on a jet?The 49ers, on the other hand, were well-rested and well-acclimated and looked like it.Boarding their plane home 1-0 became a non-negotiable with the emphasis they put on this game.They were the ones who arrived a full week in advance and they’re also the ones who will have to fully re-adjust their body clocks upon their arrival back in San Francisco Friday afternoon.The true test will be how they look next Sunday, back in the good, ole’ U.S.

of A.But even if you were to put an asterisk on their win down under against a foe that outsmarted itself, Shanahan has to be feeling pretty good about his chances on an even playing field.It wasn’t just that the Rams were out of whack from the get-go, hardly resembling the team that came one win short of the Super Bowl last season.The 49ers played with an authority that only comes through familiarity, and not only from spending the past week embracing their surroundings on the other side of the world.Warner was back at the heart of the defense for the first time since Week 6 of last season, teaming up with Dre Greenlaw to force a fumble that all but iced the game in the fourth quarter.Deebo Samuel was dynamic anytime he touched the ball, including a kick return to midfield that set up a scoring drive.Nick Bosa was a menace in the backfield, less than a year since tearing his ACL.

The fact that George Kittle suited up at all less than nine months after tearing his Achilles tendon was a feat in and of itself and his presence alone had to bring a certain level ...