Puka Nacua’s Week 6 setup is so perfect it feels borderline unfair

If there’s one player in football built to completely flip a week’s narrative, it’s Puka Nacua.

The first player in NFL history with 50 catches through the first five weeks of the season, and a pass-catcher on pace to amass 1,999 receiving yards in 2025 (a would-be NFL record), if Baltimore eyes any shot of earning their second win this fall, limiting No. 12 will be atop the priority list this week.

A sensational ballplayer from the moment his cleats hit NFL turf, the former BYU product has already proven he can dominate any defense in the league, but Week 6 against the 1–4 Ravens might present his biggest opportunity yet -- and perhaps a historic afternoon in connection with Matthew Stafford.

Puka Nacua eyes history in Week 6 matchup vs struggling Ravens

For Baltimore, the 2025 campaign has been a slog on both sides of the ball. The team has one win in five weeks, Lamar Jackson is banged up, and the defense has been about as useless as a screendoor on a submarine.

Really, it's been a stunning development for a franchise that’s long been defined by its physical, disciplined play on that side of the line.

Through five weeks, the Ravens have struggled to generate consistent pressure and have been routinely exposed in the secondary. Veteran corner Marlon Humphrey has allowed 224 receiving yards in just four games, while Nate Wiggins has surrendered 146 yards across his five contests.

Against Stafford and Nacua, those numbers could balloon quickly.

What makes Nacua so dangerous is not just his production -- it’s the way he wins. He’s a technician at the position, with elite spatial awareness and timing that mirrors the quarterback throwing him the football. His ability to adjust to Stafford’s arm angles, improvise in broken plays, and find soft spots in coverage has turned the duo into one of the NFL’s most lethal combinations. It’s not just chemistry -- it’s trust.

Stafford believes in Nacua’s ability to win every route, and the ball placement reflects that confidence.

Against a Ravens secondary struggling with spacing, communication, tackling, all of the above, Nacua has a chance to get whatever he wants, and in rapid fashion.

But how? From a game plan perspective, expect head coach Sean McVay to move him all around the formation -- in the slot, out wide, even pre-snap motion to test Baltimore’s communication. The Rams love using condensed formations to create rub routes and crossing concepts, and Nacua thrives in that chaos, finding daylight where defenders get lost.

With Baltimore’s coverage lapses and inconsistent zone discipline, it could spell disaster for a defense that has consistently searched for answers.

What also bodes well for Nacua is Stafford’s willingness to challenge tight windows. Even if Humphrey or Wiggins are in phase, Stafford’s anticipation allows his number one target to make plays through contact. His ability to win at the catch point, maintain balance, and create yards after the grab has become a defining trait.

He’s not the biggest or fastest receiver on the field -- but he’s one of the most efficient, intelligent, and flat-out one of the most elite pass-catchers in the sport today.

Week 6 also carries weight beyond the stat sheet.

It’s a moment that could further solidify Nacua and Stafford as one of the league’s premier tandems. Stafford has seen plenty of elite receivers in his career -- Calvin Johnson, Cooper Kupp, heck Davante Adams is on the Rams' roster -- and Nacua has earned his place in that conversation through precision and toughness. Week 6 could be another chapter in a partnership that continues to redefine the Rams’ offensive identity.

If Baltimore doesn’t find a way to generate pressure or disguise coverage effectively, Nacua’s diversified skillset and Stafford’s arm arrogance could carve them apart all afternoon long. And given how shaky the Ravens have been defending, well, everything through five games, Nacua should have every opportunity to have a monster day -- the kind that flips Week 6 entirely on its head, and quickly.