Puka Nacua makes huge gaffe by opening officiating can of worms before Week 16

11-3 Los Angeles Rams elite wide receiver Puka Nacua is capable of many things on the football field. But like Jim Croce's timeless hit, You Don't Mess Around With Jim, there are some things he should never do. You know the list of prohibited actions. Well, we have one more to add to the list. You don't call out NFL referees in embarrassing fashion just before a huge game.

Unfortunately, the former Brigham Young University wide receiver did not get the memo, and did exactly that. And he did it on a video podcast, so there is no avenue for plausible deniability.

Nacua is one of the NFL's elite wide receivers. And despite missing eight quarters of regulation football, he is the second most proficient receiver in the NFL. While he may fall short of the NFL's single-season reception record of 149 catches, he is absolutely on track to smash his rookie records of 1,486 receiving yards and 105 receptions. He currently boasts 1,367 receiving yards and 102 receptions, with three games remaining.

Puka Nacua just embarrassed NFL officials at the worst possible moment

NFL officiating is not good right now, and we've been vocal about that fact. In fact, that has been a popular topic after the officiating seemed to determine the outcome of games with egregious errors. But when a player calls out the referees, he is inviting a response that he won't like.

It's no shock to assert that referees are lagging in terms of integrity. The introduction of instant replay, digitizing the football, adding a referee in the booth, and even adding the ability to challenge questionable calls has opened Pandora's box to second-guessing critical moments in real time. Fans love the opportunity to wade into the realm of 'what if...?' worlds.

But NFL players shouldn't.

What happens as a result of protests against bad NFL officiating? Nothing. The outcomes are not changed. The officials simply suit up to call the next game. The last thing Puka Nacua, or any player on the Rams roster, needs right now is to give referees to call the game in Seattle with a bias that favors the Seahawks.

Unfortunately, Nacua just pulled on Superman's cape, spit into the wind, and pulled the mask off the old Lone Ranger in one fell swoop. Hopefully, Los Angeles can overcome the Seahawks, a hostile crowd, nasty weather, and now an embarrassed NFL officiating crew.

As always, thanks for reading.