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Rams WR Puka Nacua ejected for punching Seahawks LB Tyrel Dodson

The Rams snuck out an overtime win against the Seahawks after Nacua's ejection in Seattle

jason owens
Staff writer
·3-min read

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua was ejected on Sunday for throwing a punch at Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson in Los Angeles' 26-20 overtime victory at Seattle.

The punch took place as the Seahawks held a 6-3 lead late in the second quarter. Matthew Stafford targeted Nacua on a downfield pass on first-and-10 from the Los Angeles 44-yard line. Cornerback Tariq Woolen intercepted the ball at the Seattle 25-yard line and was down by contact. Woolen tried to return the ball, apparently not realizing he was down.

Dodson engaged with Nacua to block him as Woolen ran with the ball. Nacua, apparently realizing that the play was over and frustrated by the turnover, punched Dodson with his right fist in the side of Dodson's helmet.

Officials saw the punch and flagged Nakua for unnecessary roughness. They ejected him from the game, but Nakua didn't immediately leave the field. He sat on the bench for several moments before eventually jogging to the locker room with 17 seconds left in the half to a round of boos from the Seattle crowd.

"There were some things said earlier in the game and just letting my emotions get the best of me and reacting instead of responding kind of in that moment," Nacua said after the game, via ESPN. "I knew the play was down after the interception, and he just had some hands on me while I was trying to get blocked off. So, I was just making sure I could defend myself and get ready to see whatever was happening for the next play."

The turnover and the penalty put Seattle with the ball at its own 40-yard line with 27 seconds remaining in the half. The Seahawks responded with a three-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba to extend their lead to 13-3 before halftime.

For Nakua, the incident adds to a tough season for the second-year wide receiver who broke out with a Pro Bowl campaign as a rookie. Nakua suffered a PCL injury in the Rams' season opener and missed the next five games.

He returned in Week 8 to tally seven catches for 106 yards in a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings, flashing the upside that he showed as a rookie that made him a prime target in fantasy football. But he left Sunday's game with just one catch for 11 yards.

"Obviously, that's nothing that he wants to do," Stafford said of Nacua. "He doesn't want to not be able to be out there and play with us and all those kind of things. It's a little bit of a frustrating start to the game, and that guy made a hell of a play on that ball.

"And sometimes emotion gets the best of us, but I got total trust and confidence in his ability to respond and understand those are the things that we can't do. And as hard as that is sometimes to walk away from those things, you got to do it. And I got no problems with how he will be moving forward."