Puka Nacua’s rookie NFL season has been filled with record-setting nights.
On Thursday, the former BYU star and Utah native did it again.
The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver caught nine passes for a career-high 164 yards in the Rams’ 30-22 win over the New Orleans Saints, a victory that kept Los Angeles in the playoff hunt.
Nacua also caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter for the game’s opening score. His fifth touchdown of the season came on a fourth-and-goal situation, setting the tone for a memorable night.
Nacua, who prepped at Orem High and played at Washington for two years before transferring to BYU, also had two carries for 16 yards and recovered an onside kick with just under four minutes to play after New Orleans pulled within 30-22 on a touchdown and two-point conversion.
Nacua’s 180 yards from scrimmage were also a career-best. He now has four games with 150-plus yards from scrimmage, a rookie record in the Super Bowl era, according to Pro Football Focus — beating out three each from Randy Moss (1998) and Ja’Marr Chase (2021).
With Thursday night’s effort, Nacua now has 96 receptions for 1,327 yards and five touchdowns on the season. That leaves him nine receptions short of breaking the NFL rookie single-season record and 147 receiving yards short of eclipsing the rookie record with two regular-season games to play.
“He’s such a talented kid. He’s such a great guy to be around. It’s one of the more impressive rookie campaigns I’ve ever seen from any player at any position,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford told the Prime Video postgame TV crew about Nacua.
“What he’s going through week in and week out, what he puts his body through and he just shows up on Sundays or Thursdays or whatever it is, he plays his (expletive) off.”
A few other highlights from Nacua’s night:
His 28-yard reception on first-and-10 from the Los Angeles 48 helped set up the Rams’ second score, a 20-yard field goal:
On the first play of the second half, Nacua made a sliding 41-yard grab in tight coverage to set up another field goal that put Rams ahead 20-7:
Nacua’s 9-yard run — which included him bouncing off a tackle attempt with just over three minutes to play — picked up a first down and helped Los Angeles run out the clock after the Saints pulled within 8: