Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua seemed to suffer an injury during the club’s Week 11 matchup against the New England Patriots. Here’s the latest after Sunday’s game.
What Happened to Puka Nacua?
After scoring his first touchdown of the season in Week 11, the second-year wide receiver stayed down on the field after appearing to suffer an injury.
Nacua slowly departed the field and entered the blue medical tent along Los Angeles’ sideline for evaluation.
PUKA! Incredible diving TD grab
📺: #LARvsNE on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/GskV545WHF— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Nacua had already caught four passes for 86 yards and the score before leaving Sunday’s game. No other Rams pass catcher had recorded more than a single reception at that point.
Nacua injured his knee in Week 1 and missed five games, returning for a 7-106 performance against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8. In Week 9, Nacua hauled in just one pass for 11 yards before being ejected after throwing a punch in an eventual overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Did Nacua Return in Week 11?
Fortunately, Nacua returned to the game on the Rams’ next offensive series. Nacua finished the contest with seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
While there was some speculation that Nacua was evaluated for a concussion, Rams head coach Sean McVay explained what actually happened during his postgame press conference.
“They were just being cautious with him because he threw up,” McVay said. “He fell on the ball and he’s crazy like that. There wasn’t anything with his head, so he’s okay.”
PFN+ Analysis on Nacua and the Rams Offense
While he hasn’t been on the field much this year, Nacua has been effective when healthy, ranking 21st in PFN’s WR+ metric. He’s been targeted on more than 30% of the plays he’s been on the field, the fourth-highest share in the NFL. Additionally, Nacua ranks eighth in the league in yards per route run (2.58).
On-field target share and yards per route were two areas in which Nacua excelled as a rookie, while he was also impressive in terms of EPA (expected points added) per target in 2023. His numbers are slightly down in EPA per target this year, but the inconsistent nature of his time on the field almost certainly played a part in that.
Nacua had not seen much usage in the red zone before this game, being targeted on just 18.2% of his routes inside the 20-yard line. However, it appeared the Rams were making an effort to get the ball to him when near the goal line on Sunday.
— PFN Analyst Ben Rolfe