The historic first NFL game on Australian soil wasn’t exactly a nail-biter, but it brought superstar athletes, spectacular action and a touch of Hollywood to the MCG on Friday.

The “W” went to the underdog San Francisco 49ers, 27-7, as the Los Angles Rams, Super Bowl favourites, found out the hard way that jet lag comes for us all.

Much of the pre-game talk revolved around the vastly different travels strategies of the two teams, with the Niners arriving more than a week ago and LA bizarrely deciding to touch down in Melbourne on Thursday.

The Rams attempted to fool their bodies into thinking they were still in LA, but it looked more like it was the offence that didn’t make the trip from Tinseltown.

It was just the second time in 85 games the Rams have been held under 10 points.

They eventually waved the white flag and pulled starting quarterback Matthew Stafford from the game in the fourth quarter of the blowout.

As Rams coach Sean McVay aptly put it after the game, “sometimes sport can humble you”.

That didn’t seem to bother the 100,021 fans packed into the G.

A pre-match video package featuring Aussie star Elizabeth Debicki spruiked the wonders of Melbourne’s laneway scene on the broadcast to 190 countries.

While a second package narrated by actor Kyle Chandler, the coach in the hit series Friday Night Lights, waxed lyrical about American football.

“Clear eyes, full hearts - can’t lose,” he said as inspirational NFL clips played.

This is why the NFL is the biggest sport in America, and the Victorian Government just paid $16 million to bask in the reflected glow.

It was a nice touch to see the back judges adjudicating on field goals using AFL hand signals, and even better to see the Jonas Brothers perform a stirring rendition of You’re the Voice by John Farnham during the halftime show.

With celebs such as Dannii Minogue, G-Flip and Aussie cricketer Mitchell Starc looking on, the “home team” Rams mostly sleepwalked through the first quarter before dusting off their vaunted “13 personnel” package and marching down the field for the first NFL touchdown Down Under.

The TD for running back Kyren Williams was a throwback to last season when the Rams steamrolled opponents on the ground, but it was to be a rare highlight for LA.

The rest of the contest belonged to the Niners, who made a statement to the rest of the league with how dominant they looked on both sides of the ball.

Offseason addition Mike Evans looms as a huge factor going forward for the 49ers, with his first four catches going for first downs in key moments, before the receiver monstered a Rams cornerback in the end zone for a TD.

Niners quarterback Brock Purdy seems to be in an eternal struggle to prove his worth, after famously being selected last in the NFL Draft, but Mr Irrelevant was the most relevant player at the G on Friday.

With a contract that dwarfs the salary cap of the entire AFL combined, Purdy overcame an early interception to be almost perfect, throwing for 205 yards and three TDs, including a first-half go ball to Demarcus Robinson, in a best-on-ground performance.

Reigning MVP Stafford only threw six interceptions for the Rams last season while tossing 46 TDs, but at the G was limited to just 155 yards, zero TDs and a pick by a swarming 49ers defence.

Converting only one third down in the first half, it was fitting the Rams opted to take a knee to end the half, with the Niners up 10-7.

That brought the Jonas Brother onto the field, donned in matching collegiate-style bomber jackets.

An odd choice for the halftime entertainment, perhaps, but, like Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl, it was a marketing decision heavily influenced by the pop group’s recent social media resurgence.

As thrilling as the Jonas Brothers’ set was, the second-half restart from Niners offensive weapon Deebo Samuel really got the crowd going.

Deebo took it to midfield, setting up two huge runs by 49ers superstar RB Christian McCaffrey that led to the aforementioned Evans TD and a 17-7 lead.

However, the moment the Niners truly ripped the heart out of LA, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom style, came when Stafford kept it on a fourth down attempt at the goal line in the third quarter.

The 38-year-old QB was stuffed by a defensive effort led by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, then the Niners drove the length of the field, ending in a 15-yard strike to Deebo to put San Fran up 24-7.

While there remains significant questions about the fragility of this injury-plagued 49ers team, the performances of their star players at the MCG on Friday leaves little doubt they can be Super Bowl contenders.

As for the Rams, here’s hoping their bonkers travel strategy works better going the other way.