SEATTLE — Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua was ejected in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks following an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Nacua was the target of a deep ball from quarterback Matthew Stafford in the final minute of the first half. The throw went long, and was intercepted by cornerback Riq Woolen.
While Woolen was ruled down by contact at the spot of the interception, linebacker Tyrel Dodson began to block Nacua in case the play was still live. Nacua appeared to take exception and threw a punch at Dodson’s helmet.
After a huddle between the officials, they added a 15-yard penalty to the play and disqualified Nacua, who had entered the day with a questionable designation after aggravating his knee injury earlier in the week.
The receiver sat on the bench for a few minutes, speaking with fellow receiver Cooper Kupp as he processed what had happened, before running off the field and into the locker room.
“Just a learning experience,” Nacua said of the incident. “Being super competitive in between those lines, there were some things said earlier in the game, just letting my emotions get the best of me and reacting instead of responding. I knew the play was down after the interception, he just had some hands on me while I was trying to get off the block, so I just made sure I could defend myself.”
Nacua had just one catch for 11 yards before his ejection.
The second-year receiver spent the rest of the game in the locker room, speaking with a police officer as he watched his teammates on a small television hanging over the lockers.
“Just pacing,” Nacua said. “I’m feeling glad that we got a dub and a little helpless feeling watching the game by myself off this little screen.”
Following the game, head coach Sean McVay said he wanted Nacua to learn to channel his emotions in a more positive way.
“We’re smarter than that,” McVay said. “Love him, but I think the biggest thing that you know about him is one of the best traits that he has is the emotions and the way that he loves competing with his teammates and doing everything he can to contribute. And then also understanding how important it is to have what [Aaron Donald] used to always call that ‘controlled aggression.’ So he’ll learn from it.”
BRIEFLY
Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) and cornerback Josh Wallace (leg) both left the game early due to injury.