Los Angeles Rams superstar wideout Puka Nacua is no stranger to making a ruckus on social media.
Be it him going viral for taking a chance and asking Sydney Sweeney out or facing the ire of the NFL for his criticism of the referees seconds after a close defeat, Nacua will post whatever comes to mind at any given moment.
While Nacua’s posts are usually straightforward, a mysterious post appeared on his X feed during the Super Bowl. As Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks, the team that defeated Nacua’s Rams in the NFC title game to make the Super Bowl, were on the verge of beating down the New England Patriots, a laughing emoji appeared.
Not only did Nacua post a laughing emoji, but it was next to the name of the Seahawks’ QB, Sam Darnold, prompting millions (and millions) of fans to wonder why the Rams wide receiver would take a shot at the former USC quarterback.
Why would Nacua take a verbal jab at his rival when he was on the verge of the best moment of his professional career?
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Fans theorized what was going on when Nacua made the insidious message.
While some fans realized what had actually happened, it wasn’t until recently that the entire firestorm was cleared up, Nacua going over the truth of what the laughing emoji actually meant.
"The rivalry, I'm definitely going to keep that going," Nacua said on One Night with Steiny. "That's what makes it fun. It makes sure people watch when we play them, and it gives the media something real to talk about because I actually said that.
"There was a clip during the game where he tried to take a knee and kind of fell into a Patriots player's lap. The guy tried to help him up, and he didn't take it, so that's where it came from. Once everyone started responding, saying we beat you guys, the Rams suck, Sam Darnold owns you, I figured it was already too far gone. I was not going to explain myself at that point."
Regardless of what Nacua meant behind the devilish laughing emoji post, that won’t stop Seahawks fans from bashing Rams fans and vice versa. The two teams had the best rivalry of 2025 and early 2026, the NFC West rivals playing three classic games, climaxing with the Seahawks barely passing by L.A. en route to their second franchise ring.
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