The Rams and 49ers traveled halfway around the world to remind everyone about the thin line they walk in the NFC West.

The Rams arrived in Australia carrying Super Bowl expectations and a roster seemingly assembled to make those expectations reasonable. The 49ers arrived with enough questions to fill a cargo ship.

Then they played.

By the time the 49ers finished dismantling the Rams — and the assumptions that accompanied them to Australia — the division looked far less willing to cooperate with Los Angeles’ championship plans.

Meanwhile, the 49ers boarded their flight home with answers to some of their biggest questions and every reason to set their sights higher.

That does not mean September has delivered its verdict on January. But Thursday offered a useful correction to the idea that the NFC West would serve as the Rams’ launching pad to something bigger.

They still have to win the neighborhood.

And the neighbors remain a pain in their backside.

The 49ers spent much of the buildup looking like a team whose circumstances might swallow its potential. Injuries, disruptions and uncertainty created an easy temptation to discuss everything working against them while overlooking what still works for them.

Kyle Shanahan can still construct an offense that makes a defense defend the entire field. Brock Purdy can still operate it with the confidence and precision necessary to turn a difficult assignment into someone else’s difficult day.

And the 49ers still know the Rams well enough to be unimpressed by the names on their roster.

That familiarity matters over a season.

The 49ers do not need to match every Rams acquisition with a splash of their own. San Francisco needs to block, tackle, execute and force the Rams to play through the frustration of having their preferred answers taken away.

Thursday was a reminder that those qualities travel, too.

More significantly, the 49ers demonstrated that their problems do not automatically define their ceiling. A team can enter the season with legitimate concerns and still possess the coaching, quarterback play and competitive backbone to contend.

The challenge now is sustaining it. One impressive game does not erase the health questions or guarantee that the next opponent will be handled with the same authority.

But it changes the conversation.

The 49ers have given everyone a reason to talk about what they can accomplish.

For the Rams, the lesson is less flattering and potentially more consequential.

Talent can raise expectations. It cannot do the blocking and tackling.

Their celebrated defensive front did not register a sack. Worse, San Francisco rushed for 174 yards at 5.8 yards per carry, a level of efficiency that allowed the 49ers to dictate far too much of the game.

Those failures are connected. A defense that cannot control the run struggles to create the passing situations in which its expensive pass rushers are supposed to take over.

That is a structural concern worth monitoring long after the disappointment fades.

So is Myles Garrett’s knee.

His acknowledgment that it hurt adds weight to a performance he described in brutally critical terms. The Rams acquired him to change games. If the knee compromises his ability to do that, the implications extend beyond one loss.

It also changes the discussion around Aaron Donald.

His comeback was supposed to provide an extraordinary addition to an already formidable defense. Now comes the uncomfortable question of how much the Rams might need him simply to make that defense meet expectations.

That is asking a lot of someone returning after two seasons away.

Offensively, Matthew Stafford’s struggles supplied another warning against treating this roster as a finished product.

The reigning MVP was neutralized by Raheem Morris’ defense. Ten Rams caught passes, but only Puka Nacua consistently commanded attention.

There is a difference between having multiple targets and presenting multiple threats. Over the long haul, the Rams need more players who force defenses to make difficult choices.

Sean McVay has time to find those answers. Stafford has the experience to respond. Neither should be dismissed because of an ugly opener.

But neither gets to assume the answers will arrive on their own.

Which brings us to Seattle.

The Seahawks did not need to take a snap in Australia to find something encouraging in what unfolded.

The team widely expected to set the division’s standard showed vulnerabilities. The team that exposed them also served notice that this race could require considerably more endurance than a simple pursuit of Los Angeles.

For Seattle, that creates opportunity and obligation.

Opportunity, because the Rams have offered no reason to believe they are beyond reach. Obligation, because the 49ers have made clear that keeping pace with Los Angeles might not be enough.

Seattle still has to establish its own credentials. Nothing about Thursday awards the Seahawks a victory or answers their questions.

But a division with multiple credible contenders can make every head-to-head result more valuable and every avoidable loss more expensive. The Seahawks should see a race they can influence, with little room to waste chances.

Even Arizona belongs in the broader calculation: Whoever emerges from this division will have to handle the games that generate less attention, too.

The Rams’ travel decisions will receive plenty of scrutiny. So will the wisdom of asking players to adjust to Australia on such a compressed schedule.

The longer view, though, requires looking beyond the itinerary.

San Francisco controlled important parts of a football game. The Rams could not impose their supposed advantages. Seattle now has an early look at both the opportunity and the standard.

There are months left for those impressions to change.

But the NFC West’s first message was clear enough.

The Rams might have built a roster for February.

They still have a division to survive.