The Seattle Seahawks‘ NFC West rivalry with the Los Angeles Rams received another layer. Last season, the two rivals played three times, including the NFC title game, which the Seahawks would go on to win en route to Super Bowl LX.
Nonetheless, playing a team three times in a season will cause animosity to emerge. For Rams wideout Puka Nacua, that’s what has arisen from playing Seattle. Moreover, there’s one specific player on the team who he can’t stand: Safety Julian Love.
“I hate everybody over there,” Nacua said on the Aug. 11 edition of the “Impaulsive Podcast.” “I’m like, there’s no friends over there. I think the number one guy, Julian Love over there, I think is his name. He plays safety. We’re not friends. He’s taken a couple shots at me, like, mid-game, and I definitely find my opportunities to get back at him, too.”
Nacua was a handful for the Seahawks last season. After Seattle’s defense kept him quiet in the first meeting, limiting him to 75 receiving yards and no touchdowns, the Rams wideout exploded in the final two meetings.
In the last game of the regular season, Nacua recorded 12 receptions for 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns, per StatMuse. Meanwhile, in the NFC title game, Nacua registered 165 receiving yards and one touchdown on nine receptions, per StatMuse.
Despite Nacua’s performances, Seattle would emerge victorious in the two games in which the Seahawks’ defense couldn’t contain him.
Puka Nacua Only Has Love for One Seahawks Player
Moreover, Nacua doesn’t only not like Love; he has no love for the Seahawks as a team, which three games in one season can cause.
“Nobody enjoys them,” Nacua added. “I love Cooper Kupp, so that’s the only person over there who gets a pass from me. But everybody else there, I’m like, just instant on sight… Their head coach is pretty good. I feel like Kupp had a big influence on their environment and stuff like that.”
If the Seahawks needed any more bulletin board material when facing the Rams this season, Nacua provided extra motivation for the group. It will be interesting to see whether these remarks resurface once the regular season gets underway. Both teams will meet late in the season as they’ll play in Week 16 on Christmas Day and Week 18.
Logan Paul Also Takes a Shot at Seattle
Nacua wasn’t the only one taking jabs at Seattle; in that same segment, co-host Logan Paul took a shot at the city as a whole. Paul noted that he’s surprised that a championship-winning team can be in a city like Seattle.
“I’ll be honest with you; I feel a little bit for the Seahawks,” Paul said in the same episode. “I go to Seattle, and I’m like, why? There’s nothing over there. How did this city produce a Super Bowl-winning team? They have good coffee.
“Seattle also, contrarily, there are a lot of big businesses that started there. I think Amazon started there. Wizards of the Coast, a trading card company manufacturer. It is a little bit of a sleeper, but I’m shocked that such a good team is in Seattle.”
Rams’ Puka Nacua Doesn’t Hold Back on Julian Love, Seahawks