Puka Nacua isn’t himself. He’s battling injuries, and it’s absolutely torpedoing the Los Angeles Rams offense, which looks old, slow, and completely out of sync seven weeks into the NFL regular season. We’re seeing a team that lacks explosiveness and consistency, and a huge chunk of that can be pinned on Nacua not being at 100 percent. The Cardinals just beat them 18-16, a close game, but it tells you everything you need to know about where this offense stands.
The Rams Offense Just Cannot Get Untracked
It’s not just one thing, but a whole lot of small problems adding up. The Rams’ running scheme is designed to churn out five to six yards on every play, going for “singles and doubles” rather than those game-breaking “triples and home runs.” That style actually suits Blake Corum and Kyren Williams pretty well, but here’s the kicker: they ran the same scheme last year. So, the sudden offensive decline this season can’t be blamed just on the run game. What’s really shocking is the lack of investment at wide receiver. The Rams rolled with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams as their top two, knowing full well that neither player is a stranger to injuries. It was highly improbable Adams would stay healthy all season, yet the team stayed stubborn, failing to bring in a legitimate third receiver. They got a false sense of comfort from Konata Mumpfield and Jordan Whittington, but let’s be real, neither of those guys is a suitable replacement for Adams in the starting lineup.
Nacua’s Health Is the Engine Light for the Entire Offense
This is the big one, folks. Nacua has been on the field, handling a large workload, but he just doesn’t look like the player he was. He’s clearly not healthy. Reports say he’s been battling the early stages of a sports hernia since the beginning of the season, and that injury hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s being managed, but it’s likely limiting his explosiveness. Then, to make things worse, a calf injury popped up last week. Last year, Nacua added a deep threat wrinkle to his game that made him an Offensive Player of the Year candidate, but that is GONE in 2026, most likely because of these injuries. He’s regressed to a high volume of short area passes, which was how he initially made his mark, and while that’s good, it’s not “star-level production.” A staggering 54.8% of his targets are coming within nine yards of the line of scrimmage. This shift in Nacua’s role has sent ripples through the entire offensive ecosystem. The deep passing attack for the Rams has completely disappeared. On throws that traveled at least 20 yards through the air, Matthew Stafford has completed just 7 of 25 attempts, a dismal 28% completion rate, for only 244 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. This accounts for a tiny 9% of his total throws. Nacua has been targeted on nine of these deep plays, representing 14.5% of his total targets, but he’s only hauled in two receptions for 60 yards and zero scores. Compare that to Stafford’s MVP season, where he targeted the deep area of the field at a 14.8% clip, completing 48 of 106 attempts, or 45.3%, for 1,532 yards with 12 touchdowns and a single interception. Back then, Nacua accounted for 32 of those deep plays, 16% of total targets, with 17 receptions, 514 yards, and four touchdowns.
The Rams are looking for answers, and they need them fast. With Nacua clearly hobbled and the deep game a shadow of its former self, it’s tough to see how this offense turns it around. They’re stuck with an inconsistent unit that simply isn’t making big plays.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Turf Show Times.
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