Puka Nacua ejected for throwing punch

Rams receiver Puka Nacua threw a punch at a Seahawks player right before halftime

Puka Nacua was ejected right before halftime of the Rams’ Week 9 game against the Seattle Seahawks for throwing a punch. With less than a minute before halftime, Matthew Stafford threw a deep pass to Nacua that was intercepted by Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen. Though Woolen was ruled down because he was touched by Nacua as he went to the ground, Seattle’s corner got up and started to return the ball amid the confusion.

Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson then blocked Nacua as if Woolen was able to return the interception and Nacua retaliated by throwing a punch at Dodson’s helmet.

The referees conferred for several minutes and announced that Nacua had been flagged for a personal foul that would give Seattle 15 more yards after the interception, as well as the fact that Nacua would be ejected for the penalty.

The Seahawks led the Rams 6-3 when the play happened, but Seattle was able to drive down the field in the remaining seconds to add another touchdown and increase the lead to 13-3.

Why was Puka ejected?

As ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio pointed out, ejections are sent down by the league office. Florio also mentions that the NFL didn’t eject Trent Williams over punches in the past and didn’t eject Xavier Woods for sending Chris Olave to the hospital on Sunday, although I’m not sure that’s a one-to-one comparison.