Seahawks star rips Puka Nacua for taking shots at Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold

Feb 9, 2026 - 11:45
Seahawks star rips Puka Nacua for taking shots at Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold is a Super Bowl champion, but his performance on the biggest stage failed to impress one NFL rival.

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback threw for 202 yards and a touchdown at Levi’s Stadium — numbers that won’t exactly live long in the memory for the millions who tuned in on Sunday night.

Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium on February 08, 2026
Darnold is a Super Bowl champion, but his performance failed to impress one rival
Getty

But when your defense comes up with three takeaways, six sacks and a touchdown to stifle the opposition with a dominant display, it doesn’t really matter.

Seattle won 29-13, and walked off the field with the Lombardi Trophy.

Puka Nacua appears to slam Sam Darnold Super Bowl display

The Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game last month, en-route to Levi’s Stadium.

Puka Nacua, it seems, is still hurting.

Los Angeles’ star wide receiver, who led the NFL in receptions over the regular-season and racked up 1,715 yards, appeared to take a jab at Darnold on social media.

He took to X as the 2026 Super Bowl unfolded and simply wrote ‘Sam Darnold‘ alongside a cry-laughing emoji.

Plenty of people in the NFL world took that as a not so subtle dig.

Analyst Emmanuel Acho believed Nacua was laughing at Darnold’s poor play, and ripped the receiver on social media for the post.

“Puka needs to chill out and give Sam Darnold his RESPECT!” he wrote on X.

“Sam Darnold beat Puka and then won a Super Bowl, what the heck Puka laughing for?!”

A screenshot shows Puka Nacua's tweet aimed at Super Bowl QB Sam Darnold
Nacua appeared to fire shots at Darnold as the Super Bowl unfolded
X: @AsapPuka
Puka Nacua #12 of the Los Angeles Rams completes a catch against Devon Witherspoon #21 of the Seattle Seahawks during the NFC Championship game
Nacua and the Rams were beaten by the Seahawks in the NFC title game last month
Getty

Others were quick to point out the irony of the comment, which came from someone who failed to reach the big game this time around.

“Darnold is winning a ring while you’re on your couch,” one fan wrote.

“Hating from outside a club you can’t even get in,” another claimed.

“They handed you an L and you talking,” a third said.

“Watching your division rival win a Super Bowl and then running to Twitter to laugh at the QB… Have some shame,” a fourth replied.

Nacua’s comments also got back to the Seahawks, too.

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Sam Darnold defended by teammate amid Super Bowl backlash

As Seattle’s wild celebrations unfolded in Santa Clara, linebacker Ernest Jones IV jumped on his phone to fire a shot back at Nacua.

Quoting the initial post, he wrote: “Ain’t you at home. Goofy a**.”

Jones dominated on the field in Super Bowl LX, and annihilated the Pats’ O-line on a number of occasions.

He then annihilated Nacua with a simple take down on social media.

Ernest Jones IV #13 of the Seattle Seahawks looks on prior to the NFL Super Bowl LX football game against the New England Patriots at Levi Stadium on February 8, 2026
Jones jumped to Darnold’s defense with a brutal tweet to Nacua
Getty
Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks reacts after the NFL Super Bowl LX football game against the New England Patriots
Darnold ended Sunday night by lifting the Lombardi Trophy
Getty

Darnold, as a newly-crowned champion, probably won’t be fussed about what anyone says.

“I feel like I didn’t play as good as I could have, but our defense had our back, and our special teams had our back,” he told reporters postgame.

“We got the win… it’s pretty special.

“Everyone in that locker room believes in me, they’ve had my back from the jump, and I have their back too. That’s just how we role.”

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