After the San Francisco 49ers got picked to play in Australia this year, they hoped the NFL might do them a small favor when it came to their schedule. Instead, the league shot them down.
So what was the small favor? When the 49ers made their travel plans Down Under, they didn't just take their game against the Rams into account. The team also wanted to make sure everyone on the roster had plenty of time to re-acclimate to Pacific Time ahead of their Week 2 home game against the Miami Dolphins.
To make the adjustment easier, the 49ers asked the NFL if they could play on Monday night in Week 2, so they'd get an extra day to recover from the trip to Australia. But, apparently, the league said no, according to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.
"We asked very nicely," Shanahan said. "Didn't work."
To make matters worse for the 49ers, the NFL not only rejected their request but also gave the Rams a Monday night game in Week 2, so Los Angeles will get a bonus day to recover after flying home from Australia.
The Rams will face the New York Giants in Week 2 while the 49ers will be hosting the Dolphins on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Dolphins are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league this year, which led someone to ask Shanahan whether having an "easier" opponent affected the team's travel plans for Australia.
"No, that doesn't matter," Shanahan said. "This is the NFL. Those are setups. You don't ever look at an NFL game like that."
Basically, the 49ers wanted to play on Monday in Week 2, and they didn't care who the opponent was going to be.
Shanahan not happy with the NFL's compromise
Although the 49ers didn't get a Monday night game in Week 2, the NFL did give them three straight home games to recover, so they'll be playing at Levi's Stadium in Week 2 (Dolphins), Week 3 (Cardinals) and Week 4 (Broncos). That might sound good, but earlier this year, Shanahan said it doesn't actually help his team at all.
"I mean, three home games is irrelevant," Shanahan said. "That doesn't mean anything. It means you're going to have three more road games in December and January. So, that's my answer on three home games."
Shanahan has had plenty of complaints about the Australia game, and now, we can add a new gripe to the list: The NFL didn't grant the 49ers their scheduling wish.
It will certainly be interesting to see how both teams recover from this game, and the NFL will be watching closely. The two teams had two completely different travel strategies for the trip to Australia.
The 49ers arrived in Australia on Sept. 4, and they'll have been in Melbourne for an entire week by the time the opener against the Rams kicks off. That might help them for this game, but it could make it harder to re-adjust to Pacific Time afterward.
As for the Rams, they landed in Australia Thursday morning (local time). By the time they leave, they'll have spent only about 30 hours in Melbourne, so that could theoretically make it easier to re-adjust ahead of Week 2. Even if it's not easier, they'll still get an extra day to re-acclimate because they have a Monday game in Week 2, and that should definitely help.
