At the end of Week 9, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua injured his knee. He didn't suffer a tear, but instead suffered PCL and MCL sprains. He is expected to be placed on injured reserve. Seattle Seahawks fans shouldn't feel free to be happy about the injury, though.
For one, if Nacua misses only four games, he would be back for both meetings with Seattle later in the season. The only positive result of Nacua being out would be LA losing games to other teams.
Secondly, as head coach Mike Macdonald implied with his "we did not care" mantra last season while the Seahawks were on their way to winning the Super Bowl, Seattle fans shouldn't be afraid of facing a team with all of its best players. The Seahawks should be able to beat a completely healthy Rams team if Seattle deservedly wants a chance to get to the playoffs.
Seattle Seahawks fans can't celebrate Puka Nacua's latest injury
Beating a team that is missing key players due to injury shouldn't be anything anyone wants. A winning team shouldn't want to let the other team have excuses. The best of one team should defeat the best of another team; that's what sports is about.
Before facing the Seahawks in Week 16 and then again in Week 18, Los Angeles will face a rough schedule, likely without Nacua. After playing the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10 (a clearly winnable game) and then having a bye week, the Rams will take on the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
If Nacua is placed on injured reserve, which is expected, he will have to miss four games, not weeks. The final game Nacua would miss, if he goes on IR and stays on it for the minimum of four games, would be against the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers, Chiefs, and 49ers are a difficult trio.
Los Angeles has a well-built roster, and one that can keep winning without Nacua. This is especially true as the Rams have recently gotten edge rusher Myles Garrett back from a stint on IR with a knee injury. He is now paired with Aaron Donald, and LA could win on the strength of its defense alone.
This isn't meant to put fear in the hearts of Seattle Seahawks fans. Fear shouldn't exist. While Seattle hasn't played at the level it did last season, the roster is still very good, and Mike Macdonald's team is capable of beating Sean McVay's team.
But just like last season, when Rams fans (all three of them) kept harping that Seattle got lucky in one victory against their favorite team because of an odd Zach Charbonnet 2-point conversion, the Seahawks will want to leave no doubt about who the better team is in 2026, even if Puka Nacua is unable to play against Seattle. Let Nacua play, and let the Seahawks win.
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