In the second quarter of the first Sunday Night Football game of the season, Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua left with an apparent injury. Nacua caught a ball from quarterback Matthew Stafford and seemed to go down a little strangely.
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He was listed as questionable to return with a knee injury but was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. Los Angeles likely wants to be cautious with their star player, so it makes sense not to push him when they don’t fully know the extent of the injury.
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With Nacua now out of the game, the Rams will need to rely on their other offensive weapons to close out the second half. Los Angeles still has wide receiver Cooper Kupp to work with, but the emphasis now fully goes toward him.
Nacua put up a record rookie NFL season for the Rams last year, so his presence will be missed. He put up 105 receptions and 1,486 yards in his first season while also finding the endzone six times.
Despite his strong year, he didn’t earn the Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
The hope is that this injury isn’t too serious for Nacua, and he can return next week when the Rams play the Arizona Cardinals. The second-year wide receiver got onto the field for a few plays before the first half ended, so there is hope that it wasn’t too bad of an injury.
The Rams have to be cautious with Nacua, as he dealt with a knee injury throughout the preseason. The team doesn’t want to have this issue linger throughout the season, so playing it smart in Week 1 is a good idea.
The defense for the Rams will need to step up with Nacua out for the rest of the year. L.A. lost All-Pro Aaron Donald to retirement this offseason, and they traded away star linebacker Ernest Jones IV a few weeks before the start of the season.
Los Angeles went into halftime trailing the Lions by a score of 10-3 in what was a fairly low-scoring first half. They will look to get back on track in the second half in what could end up being a fun way to open Sunday Night Football.
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