As Puka Nacua completed his extraordinary day on the field, the Los Angeles Rams" rookie wide receiver sought assistance from a team employee for directions to the front of the stadium.
“Which way to the front of the stadium?" he asked a nearby team employee.
Despite being new to the NFL and playing his first regular-season home game, Nacua"s remarkable performance exhibited a level of skill and expertise beyond his experience.
In the Rams" recent 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Nacua achieved an impressive feat by catching 15 passes for 147 yards.
This performance shattered the NFL"s single-game record for rookie receptions and established a new league benchmark with 25 total catches in his first two games.
In his NFL debut just a week ago, Nacua notched 10 catches for 119 yards, signifying his immediate impact in the league.
With his 10th catch in Sunday"s game, Nacua surpassed Earl Cooper"s longstanding record (1980) for the most receptions by a player in their first two games.
Additionally, Nacua became the first player in NFL history to achieve the milestone of recording 10 receptions and 100 receiving yards in each of his first two NFL games.
“He"s a stud," Rams coach Sean McVay said. “The game makes sense to him. Physically and mentally tough. Works really hard. He"s very inquisitive. He asks a lot of questions, and he"s got great guys to be able to lean on.
“His rapport with [quarterback] Matthew [Stafford], where they"re able to bounce things off of one another, I think that"s been a real positive, and Puka"s going to continue to improve."
Notably, only four players have ever achieved 100 or more receiving yards in each of their first two NFL games: Nacua, Don Looney (1940), DeSean Jackson (2008), and Will Fuller V (2016).
According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Nacua now stands among the four players in NFL history who have attained 100 or more receiving yards in their first two games.
His outstanding performance has propelled him to the third-highest number of receptions by any player through a team"s initial two games in NFL history.
As a rookie, Nacua is in esteemed company, surpassing the likes of Cooper Kupp, who achieved 24 catches in 2022.
Nacua"s exceptional performances have become even more crucial for the team as they navigate the absence of Cooper Kupp, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
