Sarah BarshopESPN staff writer2 min read
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Rams rookie cornerback Pukka Nacua caught 15 passes for 147 yards in Los Angeles’ 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, breaking the NFL’s single-game record for receptions by a rookie and setting New total number. league mark with 25 points in the first two games of his career.
With his 10th catch on Sunday, Nacua broke Earl Cooper’s record, set in 1980, for most receptions by a player during his first two games.
Nacua had 10 catches for 99 yards when he set the record against the 49ers, one week after he had 10 catches for 119 yards in his debut. On the next play, Nacua broke the 100-yard receiving mark, becoming the first player to record 10 receptions and 100 receiving yards in each of his first two NFL games.
Nacua’s 25 receptions are the most by a rookie during any two-game stretch in NFL history. Odell Beckham Jr. had 23 points over two games in December 2014.
Nacua became the fourth player in the last 10 seasons with 25 receptions and 250 receiving yards in any two-game span. The others are Julio Jones (2015), Antonio Brown (2015), and Michael Thomas (2018). Nacua, of course, did just that in his first two career matches.
Nakao was on the injury report this week with an oblique injury suffered in the Rams’ season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks.
According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Nacua is now one of four players in NFL history to record 100 or more receiving yards in each of his first two NFL games, joining Don Looney (1940), DeSean Jackson (2008) and Will Fuller V (2016). .
The Rams are without wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Cobb will miss at least two more games due to the injury, and will be eligible to return in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
ESPN Statistics & Information and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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