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Puka Nacua and Dalton Kincaid were just praised (again) for their wild card weekend performances

krysyan edler
·4 min read
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AP
AP

The playoff performances of two NFL rookies who played collegiately in Utah earned them a shoutout Monday during “Good Morning Football” on NFL Network.

Co-host Peter Schrager listed the Bills’ Dalton Kincaid as the fifth best and the Rams’ Puka Nacua as the second best in his list of the top five rookie performances during the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend.

What did Peter Schrager say about Dalton Kincaid?

Kincaid, a former Utah tight end, scored his third touchdown of the season in the Bills’ 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday. In addition to the touchdown, he finished the game with 59 yards and six receptions.

“Kincaid had some early catches to get it going (Monday), and then you had the lightning strike. Dalton Kincaid — huge game,” Schrager said. “Dalton Kincaid, who our guy Shaun O’Hara actually said reminds him of (Travis) Kelce when he watches him on film. Well, he played like a superstar yesterday. Three catches (were) solid, but the big touchdown was what mattered.”

Schrager called out the Bills fans who questioned why the team drafted Kincaid after his slow start.

Kincaid only had 118 yards on 17 receptions in his first five games this season but finished the regular season with 673 yards, 73 receptions and two touchdowns, according to ESPN.

“(He) started out slow out of the gates this season,” he said. “A lot of people wondering, ‘Why did we draft this guy?’ (In the) biggest moments, Dalton Kincaid has been there over this great stretch.”

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What did Peter Schrager say about Puka Nacua?

Ahead of Kincaid, Schrager had Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, both of the Detroit Lions, tied at fourth, Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Rashee Rice at third and a former Cougar at second.

“There was all (this) attention on Puka Nacua going into this game. How would it actually look in a playoff game?” he said. “Puka Nacua was the go-to guy and was amazing in a loss.”

Against the Lions Saturday, Nacua had nine receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown and broke another rookie record, as the Deseret News previously reported.

He snapped the record for rookie receiving yards in an NFL playoff, which DK Metcalf set with 160 yards in 2019.

“He’s just a constant,” Schrager said. “We love his game. He had one of his best games of the season in the playoffs. Guys, he had 10 targets, caught nine of them, 181 yards, including the long touchdown, in a rookie postseason debut on a game that — I don’t know the numbers — but probably had about 40 million people in America watching.”

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What did Sean McVay say about Puka Nacua’s playoff debut?

Rams head coach Sean McVay thinks even more highly of his rookie than Schrager does.

The coach didn’t shy away from praising Nacua in his postgame press conference Saturday.

“He’s just a great competitor,” he said. “He shows up big, makes plays. He’s tough to tackle. He can work edges and win and separate. He can finish. This guy’s a freaking warrior, and he is a stud. I love the mindset and mentality that he has, and if he just continues to stay humble and keep working, this guy is going to be a problem for a long time.”

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Who was the best rookie in the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend?

While Nacua had what Schrager called a “monstrous game,” it wasn’t enough to earn him the top spot in the ranking.

That honor went to Nacua’s biggest competition for this season’s NFL Rookie of the Year award: Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.

In the regular season, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions, according to ESPN.

He threw for 274 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Texans’ playoff victory over the Browns Saturday.