Myles Garrett has at last conceded that his knee injury is more severe than he had previously been willing to admit, following a subdued debut for the Los Angeles Rams in their season-opening loss in Australia.

The reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year made no tackles and had no impact on the game during the Rams’ 27-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Friday.

Although Garrett missed much of training camp and the Rams' recent weeks of practices to rest his knee, the superstar and the Rams had not suggested he might be unable to play at his best when he began his 10th NFL season.

Before his 15-hour flight back to LA, Garrett finally admitted he isn't at 100% health.

"This was the most abysmal iteration of myself that I've ever presented to the world, and I've got to be better," Garrett said at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"I've got to find a way to recover and get back to the player I know I can be and I've demonstrated that I've been before."

Garrett was unwilling to discuss specifics regarding his knee or his overall condition after finishing without a tackle for merely the fourth time in 135 career NFL games.

He would not even disclose which knee is injured.

“I wasn’t the player that I aspired to be, and I feel as though I wasn’t the player I had been on previous occasions when I’ve stepped onto that field,” Garrett said.

“I’ve got to do whatever I can to recapture that.”

Garrett was absent for merely two games throughout his final five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, who subsequently traded him to Los Angeles during the summer.

Garrett's ineffectiveness was merely one issue for the Rams' revamped defense, which added the NFL's best pass rusher and top cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to a group that had reached the NFC championship game the previous season.

Although McDuffie delivered a commendable performance in Melbourne, the day as a whole proved disastrous.

Watson was beaten for a touchdown by Mike Evans, and no one rose to the occasion with a standout effort as the 49ers racked up the game's final 24 points.

Yet Los Angeles' offensive performance was hardly any more impressive, culminating in a 20-point defeat — the most lopsided loss the Rams have suffered since November 2024.

The Rams are the first team to begin a season with the reigning NFL MVP and AP Defensive Player of the Year in their lineup, yet Matthew Stafford fell considerably short of last season's standard.

The 38-year-old quarterback completed 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards and an interception, failing to throw a touchdown pass after having thrown at least one in every regular-season game the previous year.

“Surprised is hardly the appropriate term,” Stafford remarked.

“Disappointed in how it unfolded for us.

Evidently, we didn’t advance the ball with sufficient consistency, didn’t accumulate enough points on the scoreboard to afford ourselves an opportunity to remain competitive.

Each game and each season is a fresh one.

Go out there and find a way to rectify things, progress and improve.”

For the defense, there is a silver lining: they will soon add a three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year to their lineup, possibly as early as next Monday night when they host the New York Giants.

Aaron Donald stayed home from Australia after coming out of retirement just two weeks ago, but the 35-year-old star will soon be on the defensive line with Garrett.

That won’t make the long flight home any easier, but the season is too new for the Rams to be truly discouraged.

"We were cognizant that we would encounter a degree of adversity this season," Garrett said.

"It's game one. We must determine whether we are as resilient as we claim to be."

For comprehensive coverage of the NFL by the Associated Press, consult here