The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks developed a solid rivalry this past season as they were arguably the best two teams in the NFL and all three of their games came down to the wire.
After splitting their two regular season matchups, the Seahawks got the last laugh as they came out on top in the NFC Championship Game and went on to win the Super Bowl.
During that Super Bowl, Rams star Puka Nacua was the subject of some controversy when he sent out a social media post seemingly laughing at Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold:
😂 sam darnold
— Puka Nacua (@AsapPuka) February 9, 2026
While Nacua received some backlash, he never really clarified what he meant until now. During an appearance on the “One Night with Steiny” podcast, Nacua let it be known that he was actually laughing at Darnold refusing to let a New England Patriots player help him up, but regardless, he likes adding fuel to the rivalry:
“One, the rivalry, I’m definitely gonna keep that going. That’s what makes it fun. That’s going to make sure everybody watches our games when we play them… It gives the media actually something that’s real to talk about because I actually said that. But also, there was a clip of a point in the game where he tries to take a knee and he kind of falls into the Patriots guy’s lap. And the guy tries to help him up and he doesn’t take it. So that’s where it came from. But then I was like, after everybody started responding saying like yo, we beat you guys, Rams suck, Sam Darnold owns you. I was like, alright, I’m not going to explain myself now. It was too far already.”
Nacua went on to say that Darnold “does have like a crazy journey in the NFL,” seemingly giving respect to the Seahawks quarterback who has turned his career around the last couple of years.
Even though Nacua’s tweet wasn’t as bad as it looked, it definitely will feed into this NFC West rivalry that should only get bigger in the coming seasons. The Rams and Seahawks are currently the two betting favorites to win the Super Bowl next season, making for what should be two more intriguing matchups in the regular season and perhaps a third in the playoffs.
Puka Nacua excited to reunite with Trent McDuffie
The Rams certainly have Super Bowl aspirations in 2026 as they just pulled off a blockbuster trade for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Puka Nacua played with McDuffie in college at Washington and took to social media to express his excitement for the cornerback to now join him on the Rams.