By Brian Murphy
Wait — you mean the 49ers have to play another NFL game this Sunday?
Man. I figured after the never-ending summer-long discussion of time zones, sleep cycles, circadian rhythms, melatonin, body clocks, lie-flat seats, blue light glasses and, perhaps most important, whether to say Mel-BOURNE or Mel-BIN . . . I don’t know if I can muster the energy for another 60 minutes of American football.
Wasn’t that the Super Bowl of the Southern Hemisphere, that 27-7 smackdown of the cocky Rams and their we’ve-outsmarted-Planet-Earth game plan?
Well, it was. The 49ers are undisputed champs of the Bush.
Problem is, they have 16 more back here in the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Wait — hearing now that they have 15 more here in the good ol’ U.S. of A, and another international trip, this time to Mexico City? Holy Alexander-the-Great fixation on world domination, Commish Roger Goodell. Let’s cross that south-of-the-border bridge when we come to it.
For now, I’m still trying to gear up for a Sunday kickoff at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. vs the woeful Miami Dolphins. That very sentence contains none of the grandiosity that last week’s stage held: the world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground in the world-class city of Melbourne, in front of 100,000 world-class sporting fans in a historic NFL first-ever regular season game in Australia.
No offense, of course, to the faceless office parks of Santa Clara. Or Great America. Or Tasman Boulevard. Or the Dave and Buster’s in Milpitas.
The 49ers are going to have to manufacture some emotion and enthusiasm for this one, jet-lagged sports fans. The Dolphins are, by any measure, one of the worst teams in the NFL, as I was just saying to delirious Raiders fans who are still trying to comprehend their team notching a 14-point win over an NFL team.
The oddsmakers are laughing at Miami’s chances on Sunday. The line opened with the 49ers as 10.5 point favorites, moved to 12.5 earlier this week and, as of this writing, is now at 13.5 points. That’s the biggest point spread of the young NFL season. ESPN has something called FPI — I’m not even sure what it is — and even that has the 49ers with a 91% percent chance to win.
In school, 91% used to give you an ‘A’ on the report card, and yet our very own 49ers insider Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area told us this morning the 49ers can play a “D+” level game and still beat the Dolphins.
Somewhere, Larry Csonka weeps.
This is all by way of saying: Beware the Ides of September.
Et tu, Malik Willis? Or something like that.
In my bones, the idea of a 49ers win over the Dolphins is a damn-near certainty, and that’s why the Jock Blog is firing a warning shot to the Niners locker room. Usually, when I feel something is going to happen, it doesn’t happen. It’s a special talent.
And while you and I both know with blood-oath assuredness that the 49ers will beat the Dolphins, the Jock Blog feels the need to remind you that in October of 2023, the 49ers were 9.5 point favorites at Cleveland. And lost. Hello, Jake Moody. How you doin’?
The 49ers also lost to the Arizona Cardinals at home in 2024 as 7-point favorites.
These things happen. Maybe not 13.5-point things happen, but these things happen.
I am guessing Levi’s Stadium will not be pulsing with December-versus-the-Seahawks energy on Sunday. The stands may not be packed with roaring Faithful just yet. The Dolphins helmet does not make you feel what a Cowboys helmet or a Rams helmet or even a Packers helmet makes you feel.
So the 49ers will have to create their own energy. This is the test. It’s the “Week 2 After Australia” game, and there are still haters out there who say the 49ers plan of going to Melbourne a week early might hurt them on the back end, Stateside.
You have your motivational game plan, football team. Defeat the narrative of “flat team lays egg”. Do what Vegas thinks you will do. Score 35 points with Kyle and Brock and Christian and Kaelon and Deebo and George and Mike Evans and, heck, Demarcus Robinson.
And let’s put this Australia travel storyline to bed, once and for all — even if the storyline wakes up in the middle of the night, still jet-lagged.
