Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Puka Nacua Announcement Made After Rams Miss Super Bowl

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Feb 1, 2026 9:18 PM ET

Puka Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams missed out on a spot in Super Bowl LX, falling to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the Seattle Seahawks 31-27 in the NFC Championship Game. Despite the loss, Nacua had himself another impressive performance against the NFC West rival, tallying nine catches for 165 yards and a touchdown.

Nacua has now finished his third season with the Rams, earning first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his NFL career. The two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver ended the 2025 regular season with an NFL-best 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns, all career highs.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka NacuaKevin Ng-Imagn Images

Nacua was also named a finalist for the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, joining the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey, the Patriots’ Drake Maye, the Falcons’ Bijan Robinson and the Seahawks’ Smith-Njigba. But while he awaits the award ceremony on Thursday, NFL legend Tom Brady handed out his end-of-year awards on Sunday.

Brady, who won seven Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has now finished his second year on Fox Sports’ lead broadcast team. And on Sunday, they named Nacua and Smith-Njigba as co-LFG Offensive Players of the Year.

"Listen, I can't just break this into one vote," Brady said. "I'm breaking it in half, and I'm going two. I got Puka and I got JSN. I know, it's too hard to pick between the two of them. They're both phenomenal. And look, on a team, when you're a quarterback, you love having two of your guys, not just one.

"So Puka, what can I say about him? Tremendous catches. His body control. His yards after catch. Those suction cup hands of his. He's made some of the most ridiculous plays this season."

@TomBrady couldn’t pick just 1 #LFG Offensive Player of the Year, so he went with 2!

Congratulations to @RamsNFL WR @AsapPuka and @Seahawks WR @jaxon_smith1 pic.twitter.com/TMqoTtvT2m
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 1, 2026

While Nacua and the Rams have gone home, Smith-Njigba and the Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX next Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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