Puka Nacua just turned in the best rookie season ever by a wide receiver, so we’ll have to cut him some slack here. However, in the lead up to the Rams’ playoff game against the Lions, Nacua had no idea Detroit plays indoors.
He was completely unaware that the Lions play in a dome, which is why he came out wearing a ski mask for the first portion of the game despite it likely being over 70 degrees at Ford Field.
Nacua made this hilarious admission during an interview with Rich Eisen, saying he didn’t find out the Lions play in a dome until Sean McVay told him in a team meeting before the game.
“I did have the ski mask on. It was cold. It was really cold out there,” he said. “I mean, even being in a dome – I didn’t know Detroit was a dome until, like, right before. Coach had a team meeting, he was like, ‘Puka, you know we’re playing in a dome.’ I was like, ‘Coach, I thought we were going to be outside. I’ve been practicing with my shiesty on the whole week.’”
Eisen had to make sure he heard Nacua correctly because he asked him again: “So you did not know the Lions played indoors?”
“No, I didn’t. I know, it’s bad,” Nacua sheepishly admitted. “Trust me, the guys let me know that week during meetings. They’re like, ‘What are you doing, Puka?’”
Nacua took off the ski mask early in the game because he went to drink some water and just about waterboarded himself.
“I had a drink, I was like, starting to almost waterboard myself,” he said. “My ski mask became wet. I’m like trying to breathe. Coach McVay’s like, ‘No huddle! No huddle!’ I’m like, ‘I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe, coach. Somebody get me out of here. So then I had to take it off.”
Now that Nacua knows the Lions play indoors, he can leave his ski mask and hand warmer at home when the Rams travel to Detroit next season.
