Rams WR Puka Nacua: Bears QB Caleb Williams had me 'sweating like a mother' after TD pass to Cole Kmet

SAN FRANCISCO — When Bears quarterback Caleb Williams popped into a sports memorabilia shop in Los Angeles last month and opened a mystery box with an autographed jersey, the last thing he wanted to see was anything from the Rams.

Sure enough, he got a Puka Nacua jersey — the Rams wide receiver who had just helped end his season with a 20-17 win in the divisional round — and joking muttered, “Damn you, Puka.”

Had it been the other way around, Nacua would’ve felt the same.

“It was valid,” Nacua told the Sun-Times on Monday at Pro Bowl practice. “That was so funny. I probably would’ve said the same thing because, damn, did he have me sweating on the sidelines.”

Nacua brought up Williams’ absurd fourth-down touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet that tied the game 17-17 with 18 seconds left and said, “It’s freezing out there and negative [wind chill] and I’m sweating like a mother, saying, ‘There’s no way that he just did that.’ He’s going to be great.”

The Rams won that game 20-17 in overtime after Williams threw an interception and they went down the field for a field goal. They proceeded to the NFC Championship Game and lost to the Seahawks.