Barring any last minute changes, the Los Angeles Rams are set to have both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp on the field for the first time since Week 1. While Kupp’s return has been highly anticipated and without much concern considering the team didn’t place him on injured reserve, Nacua’s situation is very different.
Nacua has been dealing with a lingering knee injury since training camp, an injury he aggravated in the season opener in Detroit. The injury forced the Rams to place Nacua on IR and this will be his first full contact activity since then.
While many would hope the Rams slowly bring him up to speed, this is a critical game against the Vikings, a game that could tie Los Angeles for second place in the NFC West and put them only one game out of first place.
Considering the records in the NFC, winning the division may be the only way the Rams make the playoffs and it’s time to throw the kitchen sink at that goal. Nacua is young, he’s smart and he knows what his body can handle. The Rams need to put him on the field and he should see at least 30 snaps tonight.
The season hangs in the balance and should things not go their way, they can limit Nacua down the stretch. But this is a team that is coming off of a victory, they’re playing on a short week and both sides are entering this game bruised and battered.
The Vikings were on the losing end of a war against Detroit last week and perhaps having to endure such punishment for no reward may have dampened their spirits. The Rams need to strike while the iron is hot and no one has had a hotter hand in the NFL over the past 18 months than Puka Nacua. Let him do what he does best and that’s dominate.