During a candid moment two days before a critical Thursday Night Football matchup against the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua criticized referees during a livestream.
“The refs are the worst,” Nacua said when asked a question about officials during a livestream Tuesday night with Adin Ross and N3on.
“... Some of the rules aren’t ... these guys want to be ... these guys are lawyers. They want to be on TV too,” he said during a casual visit with the pair. “You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ That wasn’t P.I. (pass interference), but I called it.’”
Nacua backed off that statement a bit when asked if he felt officials really do things like that, saying, “I mean, these guys are normal human beings too, bro.”
Nacua, the former BYU and Orem High star who’s in his third NFL season, is one of the NFL’s top wide receivers in the 2025 season. He is second in the league in receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,367) for the 11-3 Rams, while adding six receiving touchdowns.
Over Los Angeles’ past two games, Nacua has caught 16 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns in wins over Arizona and Detroit.
NFL players and coaches can be subject to fines for criticizing officials — time will tell if that’s the case for Nacua.
For example, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was fined $100,000 in December 2023 for criticizing officials following a loss to the Buffalo Bills when a key penalty went against Kansas City — Kadarius Toney was called offside on a potential game-winning touchdown with under 90 seconds to play.
Reid, a fellow BYU alum, was critical of the call during his postgame press conference, calling the situation “a bit embarrassing” while stating that officials usually give receivers a warning if they’re lined up incorrectly, per NFL.com.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also received a $50,000 fine for his objection to the call, which included venting with Bills quarterback Josh Allen postgame and during his press conference.
“I mean they’re human, they make mistakes, but it’s every week we’re talking about something and all I can do is go out there and give everything I have and I’m proud of the guys, that’s what we did and it was a great football game that ended — another great football game that just ended like that it’s just tough — tough to swallow,” Mahomes said after the game, per NFL.com.
During the playoffs last January, Houston running back Joe Mixon was fined $25,000 after the Texans lost to Kansas City in the playoff’s divisional round, but the fine was later rescinded after an appeal, according to ESPN, where a hearing process determined Mixon “did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials.”
Nacua and the Rams will host the Seahawks on Thursday, with kickoff at 6:15 p.m. MST (Prime Video). A Los Angeles win would move the Rams closer to securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC, while a Seattle win would clinch a playoff spot for the Seahawks (11-3).