It’s been a whirlwind of a week for Puka Nacua.
The Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver faced criticism this week for a pair of incidents related to his appearance on a livestream Tuesday night — one was related to critical comments he made regarding NFL officiating, while he was also reprimanded and later apologized for an antisemetic gesture made during the livestream.
“At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people,” Nacua said in an Instagram post about the moment on the livestream with Adin Ross and N3on.
“I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry or hate of another group of people.”
On Thursday night, the third-year pro shook off those negative headlines and delivered a career performance in the Rams’ biggest game of the season.
Nacua finished Los Angeles’ matchup against its NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks with 12 receptions for a career-best 225 yards and two touchdowns at Lumen Field.
It ended up coming in a losing effort, as the Seahawks rallied from a 30-14 deficit early in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime, then came back again after Nacua’s second touchdown — a 41-yarder — gave the Rams a 37-30 lead in the extra session.
Los Angeles got the ball first in overtime and scored on Nacua’s touchdown, but Seattle followed that with a touchdown drive of its own, culminating in a Jaxon Smith Njigba 4-yard score.
The Seahawks went for two and the win after their TD, and Sam Darnold waited patiently before a finding a late-breaking Eric Saubert open in the middle of the end zone for the winning two points in a 38-37 thriller.
That was Seattle’s third converted two-point attempt in the wild comeback.
With the win, Seattle clinched a postseason spot and reclaimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff race from the Rams, with two weeks left in the regular season.
Nacua, the former BYU and Orem High standout, made his presence known throughout the game.
Among his top plays of the night:
- Nacua had a 54-yard catch and run late in the first quarter that set up a field goal.
- On the final play of the third quarter, he caught a 58-yard reception on third down to set up his first touchdown, a 1-yard score that gave Los Angeles a 30-14 lead.
- Late in the fourth quarter, Nacua made a leaping 27-yard grab in the final two minutes that helped flip field position in a game where both defenses kept the opposition from scoring in the final six minutes of regulation in a tie game.
- Nacua’s 41-yard touchdown catch in overtime came eight plays into a 80-yard scoring drive and pushed him over 200 yards receiving for the first time in his career.
Soon after the game, Nacua turned to the social media platform X to share his frustrations about the officiating. While he later deleted the tweet, it still caused controversy after the game.
“Can you say i was wrong. Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol,” Nacua wrote shortly after the game.
While speaking with reporters in the locker room after the contest, Nacua said he regretted sending the post.
“It was just a lack of awareness,” he said, according to NFL.com. “Just frustration.”
One of the Seahawks’ three converted two-point attempts — one that tied the game at 30-30 — was shrouded in controversy.
On the play, though Darnold’s pass was batted down and initially ruled incomplete, upon review, the call was reversed. It was ruled his pass went backward, then was recovered by Seattle’s Zach Charbonnet in the end zone for a conversion.
Rams coach Sean McVay was asked about the tweet, though he made it clear he wasn’t aware of the social media message at the time he was questioned about it.
“I can’t answer questions about something I’m not aware of,” he said in a postgame press conference video clip shared by Ari Meirov. “... I’ve got to have more information before I answer any of those kinds of questions.”
McVay was also asked about the controversy surrounding Nacua participating in the livestream earlier in the week.
“He was very apologetic. I don’t think he understood the totality of some of the things. I think he issued that apology. I know this guy’s heart and for anybody that was offended, terribly sorry about that. I know he feels that same exact way,” McVay said.
“He’s a young guy that’s a great kid that’s continuing to learn about just the platform that he has. I love him. We’re going to continue to put our arm around him and help him learn and grow, but we never want to do things that ever offend anybody and I know he feels that same way.”