LANDOVER, Md. — From start to finish, the Rams offense operated through Puka Nacua.
The wide receiver picked up Los Angeles' first first down on a 9-yard reception on the first drive. He also had their final first down with a 15-yard run on a jet sweep in the middle of the fourth quarter.
So quite literally from the beginning of the game to the end, Nacua had his fingerprints all over the Rams' offensive success. He ended the game with 14 receptions for a season-high 150 receiving yards, in addition to a receiving touchdown and 20 rushing yards on two attempts during the Rams' 20-13 win over the Commanders.
"He made a bunch of plays," head coach Sean McVay said postgame. "We needed all 14 of those catches, and there'll be a couple things that he can be able to clean up. I thought it was a big jet sweep conversion that he had that extended the drive."
His first reception was the Rams first first down, and Nacua's last catch of the game was the eventual game-winning 7-yard touchdown where he caught the ball over a defender with just under 13 minutes left in the game.
"It always is fun about getting in the end zone and celebrating with the guys," Nacua said. "Feel like we were due for one on that."
"They ran something different than maybe what we had expected, and (Nacua) did a nice job redirecting kind of the front side of the route a little bit at the line of scrimmage," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "So popped back to the backside, and he obviously ran a great route, got his feet down. Great catch. Just big play when we needed it."
On an afternoon with plenty of highs, Nacua himself also had a fair share of lows. Nacua had a few drops that he'd certainly like back, but his overall impact on the Rams was a significant net positive.
"That's one of the things that we want to be able to do as coaches is show confidence to come right back to you," McVay said when asked about how Nacua was able to shake off his mistakes.
"I gotta be able to just come down with the easy ones," Nacua said. "Especially on some of those ones where we're getting free access, gotta come down with them. But shoutout to Matthew, still being able to trust me."
Nacua ending with a season-high in receiving yards was a testament to the confidence McVay and Stafford have in Nacua. That confidence, though, was also paired with that fact that there simply weren't as many targets for Stafford to go to, and Nacua accounted for 150 of Stafford's 228 yards as a result.
Wide receiver Davante Adams is still on Injured Reserve after undergoing surgery from a hamstring injury. Then after tight end Terrance Ferguson returned to practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week following an ankle injury, he went down with a hamstring injury during practice on Friday and was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Commanders.
For a third-straight game, the Rams were without two of their top pass catchers and put more on Nacua's plate. In those three games without both Adams and Ferguson, Nacua had 33 receptions for 298 yards and three touchdowns.
When all was said and done, injuries and drops aside, the Rams came away with a victory over the Commanders on Sunday. Nacua had his highs and lows, but playing complimentary football is what Nacua cares about — especially when Nacua accounted for two of the three fourth-down conversions and one of the two touchdowns for the Rams.
"We're walking away with points in the red zone, it's a positive play and giving a chance for our defense to play more aggressive. So when we're playing complementary football, it's always better," Nacua said.
On a day when Stafford needed to trust Nacua, Nacua delivered for Stafford time and time again.
"He's great, like he always is," Stafford said. "(He) competed, gave us a spark, made a great play there for a touchdown. A bunch of great plays. So just happy to have him."
