Expectations for the Rams weren’t particularly high heading into the 2023 season and they slipped a little lower when wide receiver Cooper Kupp was placed on injured reserve this week, but the team defied those expectations in Seattle on Sunday.
The Rams trailed 13-7 at halftime, but they scored the final 23 points of the game with wide receivers Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua playing a major role. Each of them posted 119 receiving yards as part of a big return to action for quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay showered both wideouts with praise in his postgame comments.
“I’m so proud of those guys, but I’m not surprised,” McVay said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com. “That’s what Tutu Atwell had been doing, going months back. And I thought he really started to play with a lot of confidence towards the latter part of last year when he got his opportunities that were earned. Puka Nacua has come in and he’s as mature a rookie as I’ve ever been around. And he is a physical, tough, strong player. He’s got a great way about himself. And both of those guys stepped up.”
The Rams flopped in 2022 because they didn’t have enough players rise to the occasion when first-stringers went down. They’ll be hoping to avoid similar availability issues this season, but Atwell and Nacua showed that they may be better equipped to handle rough waters this time around.
