The LA Rams are likely missing out on Puka Nacua’s great play again this week.
He’s been listed as a DNP both on Wednesday and Thursday and isn’t trending in the right direction with a hip/groin injury.
That would be a win for the Broncos, but the Rams are still a tough team without Puka.
LA Rams likely missing superstar Puka Nacua
When the Broncos and Rams face off on Sunday Night Football, LA is likely to be without receiver Puka Nacua.
He’s been dealing with a hip injury that has moved into his groin, which forced him to miss last week’s Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants.
The Rams were still able to easily beat the Giants and Davante Adams went off for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 8 receptions.
But the Broncos are a tougher test for Los Angeles. Nacua will be missed by them if he’s sidelined again.
And it looks like that’s what will happen.
“We’ll see,” McVay told ESPN Los Angeles on Wednesday. “He’s not making great progress. But we’ll welcome Puka back with open arms, but if not I’ve got a ton of confidence in the group that we will go with if he doesn’t go.”
And NFL insider Ian Rapoport said on Thursday, “Doesn’t sound like he’s making great progress to be able to play this Sunday for the Los Angeles Rams. They want to make sure they’re cautious with him, so would be surprised if he goes.”
Without Nacua, the Rams are limited at receiver to Adams, Jordan Whittington, and Konata Mumpfield as the next guys up. Both Whittington and Mumpfield have one reception each this season.
There’s also tight ends Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson to contend with, but both have been underwhelming in their execution so far this year. Ferguson has 6 receptions for 54 yards and 1 touchdown; Parkinson’s caught 3 for 21 yards.
Nacua led the NFL last year with 129 receptions, 80 of them for first downs, and his 107.2 yards per game were most among receivers, too. He also added 10 touchdowns.
Simply, Nacua is a game-changer who will be missed by LA and Denver won’t be sad to see him out.
It means Riley Moss and Patrick Surtain have one less explosive receiving threat to worry about, and they can focus on shutting down Adams alone.
Rams are still a tough test for the Broncos
Not only are the Rams likely to be without arguably the best receiver in the NFL in Nacua, but they are missing last year’s Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, too.
Garrett had knee surgery about a week ago and won’t be eligible to play again until Week 6 at the earliest.
But just like with the Nacua injury, the Rams have another superstar at his position. Aaron Donald came out of retirement this summer and has returned to the Rams. He had three combined tackles last week including one TFL in the win over the Giants. He may not be as great as he once was, but he’s still a beast in the middle of the defensive line.
And LA’s defense in general is difficult to contend with for any opponent.
They traded for Trent McDuffie and brought in Jaylen Watson from the Chiefs in the offseason at cornerbacks. Both of them know Denver’s receivers well, though Jaylen Waddle will likely give Denver an advantage this week.
That’s where the Rams defense has shone through two games; in the passing game. McDuffie and safety Quentin Lake each have 6 passes defensed to lead the NFL. And as a team, their 335 passing yards allowed is 7th-best in the NFL at this point.
Offensively, LA is much more than just Nacua and Adams.
Matthew Stafford has complete control of the offense when he’s got it rolling. And the Rams have a two-headed monster in the backfield in Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.
Corum actually leads Williams in yards currently (133-126) despite Williams being the starter and having the only touchdown from the backfield. Both of them have stellar yards per carry averages (6.0, 5.5) and each have great success numbers, too.
Sean McVay knows how to mix up the play calling well, which will test even the Broncos dominant defense led by Vance Joseph.
“It’s been our third week, so our approach is the same,” Joseph said on Thursday when facing three straight explosive offenses. “It’s to stop the run, and keep the big ones off of us, and win third downs, and win red zone, and rush the quarterback the right way and just play good ball. That’s the sell this week.”
Denver will need to play great in all three phases of the game this week to steal a win in LA against the Rams.
Both the Broncos and the Rams played terrible football in Week 1, and each remembered how to play ball last week. And with both teams being preseason contenders for the Super Bowl, it makes this arguably the biggest game of Week 3.
Broncos (1-1) vs. Rams (1-1) kicks off at 6:20 p.m. MT on Sunday, Sept. 27 on NBC and Peacock.