Voltar
The Los Angeles Rams, a team that many in the NFL believed would be a likely Super Bowl team, have had a really disappointing season. But this team has a chance to win any game they play, and in Week 9, they won their fifth game of the season. It wasn’t a pretty game, like every other Rams matchup this season, but they still got the win.
Sadly, the good news ended quickly. On the final Rams offensive snap of the game, star wide receiver Puka Nacua went down with an injury, and his availability moving forward is uncertain as he awaits an MRI on Monday.
With Washington out of timeouts, the Rams faced third-and-11 late in the fourth quarter and only needed to burn more clock before punting. Instead of using a conventional run, Los Angeles put the ball in Nacua’s hands, giving him a chance to break the play and move the chains.
Nacua gained five yards but suffered a knee injury on the play, which became the Rams’ final offensive snap. In hindsight, the decision drew criticism because the Rams exposed one of their most important players to an unnecessary hit in a situation where simply draining the clock was already valuable.
After the news of Nacua’s injury broke, the NFL fans on social media reacted:
One Minnesota Vikings fan spoke about the Rams’ horrible injury luck this season that has really prevented this team from reaching its heights, “Bro the Rams are actually cursed with injuries”.
One fan criticized Rams head coach Sean McVay for putting Nacua in a position to even get injured, “McVay (is) stupid for even doing this play. Why is Puka taking these unnecessary hits?”
NFL analyst JP Acosta pointed out how unlucky the Rams are this season: “Rams can’t even win without a potentially catastrophic injury.”
Another fan threw blame at McVay, “I 100% blame Sean McVay. Stupid play call! Wow”.”
One fan questioned the play call from McVay that got Nacua injured, “Called an end around on 3rd and 11 with your best player, McVay, nice brain.”
Another fan added, “McVay (is) doing everything he can to run this special talent into the ground. Puka is gonna lose a lot of career earnings because of the beating he takes every week.”
Most of the fans questioned McVay’s decision-making on this play, and really, that has been the case all season. The Rams are ranked 13th in PFN’s Offensive Impact Metric, but they haven’t been as consistent as they were last season, when they finished first.
Nacua has been one of the Rams’ biggest offensive weapons this season, which makes the injury especially concerning. The severity is still unclear, however, and until the Rams get a firm diagnosis, it remains possible that the star receiver could avoid a lengthy absence.