Sean McVay had a great reaction to Puka Nacua setting the NFL rookie receiving records.
Nacua entered Sunday’s Los Angeles Rams-San Francisco 49ers Week 18 game needing 4 catches and 29 yards to set the league record for both receptions and receiving yards in a rookie season.
At halftime of the game, Nacua was tied for the rookie records in receptions and receiving yards, so the Rams got to work helping him break the records.
Early in the third quarter, Nacua caught a pass on 2nd-and-2 for 7 yards that gave him 1,480 yards, breaking Bill Groman’s record of 1,473 yards in 1960.
On the next play, the Rams fed Nacua again. He caught a pass for 6 yards, giving him 105 receptions on the season. That helped him break Jaylen Waddle’s record of 104 catches in 2021.
Immediately after Nacua broke Waddle’s record, McVay could be seen yelling into his headset, “get him out of there.”
“Nice, now get him out!”
Sean McVay’s reaction to Puka Nacua breaking the rookie receiving yards record is hilarious. 😂 #RamsHouse
(via @NFL, FOX)pic.twitter.com/aOCCuBj2Qw
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 7, 2024
The Rams did just that and had Nacua exit the game to avoid an injury.
Things with Nacua played out exactly as McVay had hoped.
The Rams head coach said in the week prior to the game that he wanted to see Nacua “get an opportunity to do something special and then be smart with him.”
Puka Nacua is 4 catches and 29 yards shy of breaking the NFL rookie record for receptions and receiving yards#Rams coach Sean McVay on Puka’s expected workload in a Week 18 game where key starters are being rested:
“I think you'd like to be able to see him get an opportunity… pic.twitter.com/gqEMJp2yNE
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) January 4, 2024
The Rams let Nacua do something special and then got him the heck out of the game. The rookie 5th-round pick out of BYU has now set NFL rookie records with 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards.
