The Los Angeles Rams offense looked dominant in Week 7 despite the absence of star receiver Puka Nacua. The third-year receiver led the team in targets and receptions ahead of the game but was ruled out with an ankle injury he sustained in the previous game.
Instead of collapsing, the Rams offense thrived. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for five touchdowns and completed passes to 10 different receivers. While the offense missed Nacua, the production didn’t falter and more players saw action in Nacua’s place. Rookies like Konata Mumpfield and Terrance Ferguson scored touchdowns and other receivers and tight ends catch multiple passes, too.
All of that made head coach Sean McVay realize what his offense could look like if they didn’t funnel all their targets to Nacua. And that, he told ESPN’s Rich Eisen, made the Nacua injury a sort of blessing in disguise for the Rams this year.
“I think what ended up happening is sometimes these things that are challenges can be blessings in disguise,” McVay said. “What I mean by that is we’re always going to have Puka. When he’s up, as a focal point, but also, hey let’s let’s not in the meantime lose sight of, you know, we’ve got Puka, we’ve got Davante [Adams] but we’ve got these other players that we want to take advantage of.
“We’ve got these great players that we want to take advantage of them, and I thought that was illustrated by being able to have multiple personnel groupings, multiple guys involved, and where they’ve got some plays where they could maybe be the primary in a progression. Then it allows those other guys to be a little bit fresher.”
Now, McVay knows exactly what he has in all his skill position players. His quartet of tight ends (Ferguson, Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen) all proved to be reliable in the middle of the field. Jordan Whittington and Mumpfield filled in nicely as possession receivers. Adams was an end zone machine.
It all worked well without the Rams’ star. And that’s a great realization for an offense looking to make waves in 2025.
Obviously, McVay hopes Nacua’s injury isn’t long-term and that he returns to the field sooner rather than later. But, at least he now has the trust in the rest of his team to perform at a high level without Nacua.