WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — In the week leading up to last Sunday's game against the Eagles, wide receiver Puka Nacua said he "can't think of anything else but smiling" when thinking about the possibility of returning to play.

Nacua has had a tumultuous beginning to the 2026 season, dealing with injuries that sidelined him in the previous two games against the Broncos and Giants. In Philadelphia, Nacua returned to action and reminded the NFL why he's considered one of the best to do it.

"I thought he played great," quarterback Matthew Stafford said postgame. "He's such an energy spark for us. Obviously, made some tough catches late in the game for us over the middle, guys draped all over him. I think he played like Puka to me."

In the first half against the Eagles, Nacua had two welcome back moments. The first was his first reception of the day on a 3rd-and-3, where Stafford dropped a pass into Nacua's hands in stride while he was running down the sideline. Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen jammed his hand perfectly into Nacua's to break up the pass, but Nacua adjusted his hands to haul in the pass for a 28-yard gain.

"Making sure I can track that ball all the way in, getting a first catch on a double move is definitely one to get the juices flowing," Nacua said postgame. "You feel the energy of the excitement of the football game."

The second was his first touchdown of the season, and the third rushing touchdown of his career. On first-and-goal from the Eagles' 2-yard line, Nacua ran behind the formation as Stafford snapped the pass and made the handoff to Nacua in motion while falling down — Nacua handled the rest from there.

While Nacua had two flashy moments in the first half, he really hit his stride late in the game when the Rams needed him most on their final two offensive drives. In those drives alone, Nacua had five receptions on five targets for 76 yards, including a 32-yard reception to kickstart the first touchdown drive and three receptions on the second touchdown drive.

"In those both of those drives, he was a critical factor," McVay said on Monday. "(He) made some really tough contested catches, created after the catch. He's like Pac-Man. He just kind of eats up yards, you look up and you say, 'Oh, he had another 100-plus game.' ...  I thought he was at his best in the most important moments."

Overall on the afternoon, Nacua finished with 125 receiving yards on nine receptions — his 12th-consecutive regular season game he's played in where he has had five or more receptions.

"I thought he was really key and critical in those crunch-time moments," McVay said postgame. "... There were some different things that we felt like we could take advantage of being able to get him the ball, and I thought Matthew did that. And in a lot of instances, he's going against a damn good corner in Woolen that I have a ton of respect for."

Coming off the win and strong performance, Nacua feels like he's starting to get back in a groove following the injury. Heading into Monday Night Football against the Bills, Nacua says he feels "as healthy as I think I can be."

"Feels good to get my feet truly under me," Nacua said on Friday. "Monday, especially having that extra day, definitely came in to help. But came back and getting in that routine of moving after coming back from the game, motion is lotion. The stiffness that I'm like, 'man, I want to lay down in bed because I feel sore,' never works out the next day."

As Nacua keeps things moving and prepares for Monday night, he was asked about the last time the Rams and Bills faced off, which was in Week 14 of the 2024 season.

"I just remembered it being a shootout," Nacua said. "I think it was one of my favorite catches of my career, me and Matthew connected with one on the sideline. ... Then the opportunity for us to go out and show what we got. The firepower that we have in our offense, especially from where we were then to where we are now, and just the confidence in our group."

The sideline catch Nacua deemed as "one of my favorite(s)" in his career was one of 12 catches he had in that game. He went for 162 receiving yards and one touchdown in an instant-classic Rams 44-42 win at SoFi Stadium.

Nacua vocalized his excitement to get back out on the field on Monday night as he continues get his feet under him following the injury and replicate a stellar performance from 2024.