NFL Schedule leak sets the stage for Puka Nacua to honor mentor Cooper Kupp

The 2025 NFL schedule release happens this week, and the Los Angeles Rams will soon learn the details of when, where, and who they face this season. But as is often the case, news of this magnitude is not locked down completely. Some bits of information get leaked before the official schedule release. Right now, unconfirmed NFL schedule leaks suggest the Los Angeles Rams will travel to Wembley, England, as the road team to face the home team Jacksonville Jaguars.

That game is rumored to be scheduled for Week 7.

The Los Angeles Rams get plenty of usage from their luggage. I suppose that's the price of being a successful NFL team in the southwest corner of the nation, but competing against a majority of teams that reside on the East Coast. It's not just a matter of distance and travel time, but the befuddling effect of changing time zones. A 1:00 pm PT game at SoFi Stadium becomes a 10:00 am PT game when the Rams play the New York GIants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, or even the Miami Dolphins.

Try as they might, the NFL cannot eliminate the time zone challenge. As such, the Rams football team often finds itself competing sooner than is comfortable. But nothing quite prepares the Rams for their 2025 scheduled game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7 at Wembley, England.

So when did the Rams last compete in England? That answer can be found in the 2019 Rams schedule, when the Rams faced the Cincinnati Bengals in England in Week 8. Curiously, the Rams were considered the home team in that contest, winning the game by the score of 24-10. The victory buoyed the Rams to a record of 5-3 as they entered their Week 9 BYE. The Bengals fell to a record of 0-8, on their way to a 2-14 record that would lead to drafting QB Joe Burrow.

But that game was rather special for one player on the Rams roster. And as a result, it could be a very special opportunity for another Rams player this season. You see, in that game, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was undefendable, putting up 220 receiving yards and a touchdown. That performance was the best game of his career, Kupp's touchdown was the result of a 65-yard flea flicker. That play electrified the English crowd and catapulted Cooper Kupp to NFL elite status.

Now Puka Nacua, the understudy and natural successor to Cooper Kupp, has the opportunity to return to England and try his own hand at wowing English fans. Will he be able to deliver as well as Kupp did five years ago? We shall soon see.

Kupp hauled in seven of ten passes for 220 yards, averaging a phenomenal 31.4 yards per reception. While Nacua is an elite wide recdeiver in his own right, he has never come close to that mark. He did manage to catch nine of eleven passes for 164 yards and one touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season. He averages 18.2 yards per reception. In Week 13 of that 2023 season, Nacua averaged 26.3 yards per reception. But he was limited to just four catches out of seven targets.

Can Nacua best his mentor's high-water mark in England?

It's certainly a possibility.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were dead last in pass defense in 2024. While the team has taken steps to improve that dismal performance, there is only so much that can be accomplished in one offseason. The Jaguars did draft dual threat Travis Hunter, who insisted that any team drafting him plays him as a wide receiver on offense and as a cornerback on defense.

Whether or not the Jaguars acquiesce to those demands when the regular season starts remains to be seen.

The Rams won that game in England in 2019 to improve to 5-3. But the team never seemed to recover from jet lag. The Rams would finish out their final eight games with a modest record of 4-4, and would miss the NFL Playoffs for the first time in HC Sean McVay's tenure with the team.

Let's hope that history selectively repeats itself in 2025. That is, I'd love to see a huge game out of Puka Nacua. But I'd be incredibly disappointed if the Rams could do no better than .500 after playing a game at Wembley, England.

As always, thanks for reading.

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