Three years into Puka Nacua’s NFL career, it’s hard to believe there’s still “firsts” for him to celebrate, but such was the case Sunday.
Nacua hauled in two touchdowns in the Los Angeles Rams’ 45-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, marking the first multi-touchdown game of his career and his fifth and sixth touchdowns of the season.
On Wednesday, Nacua was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his two-touchdown performance.
Already up 17-10 in the second quarter on Sunday, Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford found Nacua for a 28-yard touchdown for his first touchdown of the game.
Then in the third quarter, Stafford and Nacua drove another dagger into the Cardinals with a 31-yard touchdown pass to put the Rams up 38-10.
Nacua finished the game with seven receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns — three yards shy of tying his single-game career high.
The specialness of Sunday for Nacua goes beyond it being his first two-score game.
On Monday, Nacua pointed out on X that he scored both of his touchdowns with 12 seconds left in each of the quarters, a nod to his number.
Nacua played the first two seasons of his NFL career wearing the No. 17. He switched to No. 12 this season — the number he wore at BYU.
“I know when I put on that number 12, it’s a piece of armor as well that’s representing my family that is always protecting me,” he told Rams.com after he announced the change.
While many thought Nacua was changing his number because of new teammate Davante Adams, Nacua revealed that the process was already in the works before the Rams signed Adams, as the Deseret News previously reported.
This season, Nacua is tied with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride for most receptions in the NFL with 93. He’s also second behind Seattle Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba in receiving yards with 1,186.
Puka Nacua’s top catches
Both of Nacua’s touchdowns on Sunday came from highlight reel worthy catches.
How do they compare to the top catches of Nacua’s career?
Here’s a few of Nacua’s best catches for you to decide.