WATCH: “Nice now get him..” Rams HC Sean McVay wanted Puka Nacua out of the game as soon as he clinched the NFL rookie receiving record

Puka Nacua became rookie reception and receiving yards leader.

WATCH: “Nice now get him..” Rams HC Sean McVay wanted Puka Nacua out of the game as soon as he clinched the NFL rookie receiving record

Rams head coach Sean McVay after wide receiver Puka Nacua broke the rookie receiving yards record (Screengrab YouTube)

Sean McVay knows about breaking a few records or two. He is the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. So he knew what it meant for first-year wide receiver Puka Nacua to lock in his personal achievement.

The Los Angeles Rams had already booked their place in the playoffs. That was already sorted. But going into the final game of the season, the NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers, and they wanted Nacua to break both rookie receiver records for most receiving yards and receptions.

Before the 49ers game, the 22-year-old was sitting on 101 tackles and 1,445 receiving yards. He only required four catches and 29 yards to set the league record. At the time, he was tied for both categories, and McVay was aware of it. When most playoff-qualified teams chose to rest their players to keep them fresh, they wanted Nacua to achieve his goal.

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Early in the third quarter, Nacua caught a pass on 2nd and 2 for 7 yards that gave him 1,480 yards. The BYU graduate broke long-standing Bill Groman’s record of 1,473 yards, which he set back in 1960 while playing for the Houston Oilers.

On the next play, Carson Wentz fed Nacua a 6-yard pass. It was his 105th reception of the season. This meant he had broken Jaylen Waddle‘s 2021 record of 104 catches for the Miami Dolphins.

Realizing what Nacua had achieved, McVay did not waste any more time and went with the smart choice of recalling him. Even though the Rams were losing by 13 points, it was the right thing to do because the longer he stayed on they were risking an injury.

Puka Nacua shared an emotional moment after breaking the rookie receiving yards record

Sean McVay, before the 49ers game, said in the press briefing that he wanted to see Puka Nacua achieve both the receiving yards and reception records. The 37-year-old said,

I think you'd like to be able to see him get an opportunity to do something special and then be smart with him.

After Nacua reached his milestone, he went over to his family members and hugged them tightly.

It was a tough ask for the Rams to pull off a win over the NFC top seed. They went into halftime 20-7. However, the resurgence began from the get-go in the third quarter. McVay switched things up and allowed quarterback Wentz to use his legs more, and it paid dividends.

WATCH: "Nice now get him.." Rams HC Sean McVay wanted Puka Nacua out of the game as soon as he clinched the NFL rookie receiving record
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) after the NFL, American Football Herren, USA professional football game between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2024 at Lev™s Stadium (Image via IMAGO)

The 49ers, who were playing mostly with their backups, were taking things easy because of the lead. The sudden change in the play caught them off guard. Wentz first found Tyler Johnson for an 8-yard passing touchdown, cutting the lead short to just 7 points, which could have been 5 if Jake Moody hadn’t missed his field goal try.

With under 5 minutes to go until the final whistle, Wentz took off to score a 12-yard running touchdown. The Rams had finally taken the lead in the game, and it stayed that way, handing the 49ers their fifth loss of the season.

After the game inside the locker room, McVay handed out match balls to both Puka Nacua and Carson Wentz. The 31-year-old finished the game with 17 completions for 163 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. Next up, they will face the Detroit Lions in the playoff wild card round.

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