Should Puka Nacua have been ejected?

Puka Nacua was ejected after a mental error in the second quarter, but should he have been?

Puka Nacua’s ejection for allegedly throwing a punch at a Seahawks player is a learning experience to control his temper because the Rams need him, but whether the NFL had to go as far as removing him from the game is another question entirely. The punch could have been a punch, or it could have been a push to respond to a player pushing him after the whistle had blown the play dead already.

In either case, Nacua channeled his inner Mike Tyson.

Here’s another look at the play:

From the that angle, and probably from any angle, yes it looks like a punch. Did that move merit an ejection or did the officiating crew overreact? Coincidently, there was another ejection today in the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers game involving Brian Branch that has been called an overreaction.

Whatever the outcome of the Rams game ends up being (LA ended up narrowly winning in overtime), this can be a learning moment for Nacua. The NFL is often about controlled aggression, and whether the call on Puka was right or not, it sure looked like the second-year player lost some control of his aggression.

Nacua caught one pass for 11 yards prior to the second quarter ejection and overall he has 141 yards in his last six quarters since returning from injury. So the Rams have back “Puka” and Puka has the Rams’ back, but next time the receiver will need to bottle up the desire to throw a haymaker because L.A. needs him that badly.