Many NFL fans and analysts have spent weeks criticizing the league’s poor officiating this season. Bad calls have directly ruined several games, and the Los Angeles Rams know that feeling all too well. In Week 3, for instance, questionable officiating cost the team the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The frustration has only increased as Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua did not hold back while talking about the referees.

“The refs are the worst. These guys are lawyers, they wanna be on TV too, bro,” Puka Nacua told Adin Ross during their Kick live stream on Tuesday. “You don’t think he is texting his friends in their group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys saw me do that on Sunday Night Football? That wasn’t PI, but I called it’.”

Was Puka Nacua venting? Absolutely.

But his frustration did not come out of nowhere. During the Week 3 matchup, the Rams still had a chance late in the game. With 46 seconds left, quarterback Matthew Stafford launched a deep pass toward Nacua. However, an Eagles’ defensive back got beaten badly and fell to the turf at the same time, and somehow, still managed to grab Nacua’s trousers from behind and held on to prevent the catch. But there was no holding call or penalty on that action.

Coincidentally, earlier in that same game, Puka Nacua found himself on the wrong side of another controversial call. Late in the third quarter, he caught a pass from Stafford that moved the Rams to the Eagles’ 40-yard line. After the play, Nacua spun the ball on the ground, flexed his biceps, and pointed forward. But officials immediately threw a flag for taunting.

The result? The Rams lost 15 yards on what was a 20-yard gain. Was that really taunting, or was it just a player showing emotion? Nacua appeared to be pointing toward the end zone, not at any Eagles player. So, even FOX commentator Greg Olsen was baffled by the call. 

He opined that flexing was allowed as long as it was not directed at a defender. “I understand the spirit of the rule. In my mind, that was not it,” Olsen added.

But the controversial officiating mistakes did not stop there. Even during the Rams’ Week 4 game against the San Francisco 49ers, the officials missed penalties that proved costly for the Rams. While Rams’ running back Kyren Williams’ fumble changed the course of the game, it also happened after he was punched in the helmet. But the officials missed it. 

A similar pattern was seen in several other games that didn’t include the Rams. More recently, in Week 13, another controversial officiating moment came during the Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts game. Houston won the game 20–16, but several controversial calls influenced the outcome. One key moment occurred during the fourth quarter. The Texans faced third-and-15 at the Colts’ 25-yard line with the game tied 13–13. Colts defensive back Kenny Moore II was flagged for pass interference. 

However, replays showed that Texans receiver Xavier Hutchinson appeared to fall during that play itself. Moore barely touched him. Despite that, officials awarded Houston a first down. Three plays later, the Texans scored the go-ahead touchdown.

Would the result have been different without that call? It’s hard not to wonder. But the NFL seems aware of the growing frustration. 

Last week, reports from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed that the NFL wants to improve officiating. NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent has already informed teams that the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL Referees Association and the NFL expires in May 2026.

The next negotiating session will take place on December 30. But the league reportedly views this as a chance to fix long-standing issues.

Pelissero reported that the NFL will focus on several key areas in a new CBA with officials:

• Link pay directly to on-field performance.
• Give top-performing officials more flexibility and reward them with postseason assignments.
• Expand access to practice reps for officials.
• Extend the probation period for new officials and keep the option to remove those who fall short.
• Shorten the dead period between the Super Bowl and May 15.
• Increase the number of game officials to build a deeper talent pool.

On paper, it sounds like progress. But will it actually lead to better calls on the field? The NFL also knows it must reach an agreement before next season. No one wants a repeat of the replacement refs era.

Still, while improvement may be coming, it’s impossible to ignore that officiating mistakes continue to affect outcomes – sometimes helping teams too. Ironically, Puka Nacua’s own team benefited from one such mistake.

Week 15 officiating swung in Puka Nacua and the Rams’ favor

Puka Nacua’s team found itself in the middle of a refereeing controversy, and this time it was against the Detroit Lions. During the third quarter of the game, the Rams took the lead when QB Matthew Stafford connected with tight end Colby Parkinson for a 26-yard touchdown. The play gave Los Angeles a 27–24 advantage. But later replays suggested that Parkinson’s knee came down just short of the goal line.

Still, officials reviewed the play and ruled it a touchdown for the Rams. And Lions head coach Dan Campbell later revealed that he was not happy with the explanation given by the officials regarding the call.

“No, I mean, we’re going to ask about it, you know,” Campbell told reporters one day after the game while talking about the touchdown call. “But no, they were just, ‘Hey, this is, you know, it’s like I said last night, the call stands.’ That was as good as I got.”

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Would the Rams have scored on the next play? Probably. But Detroit never got the chance to make a goal-line stand. Once again, officiating became part of the story, and that’s the issue fans can’t ignore.

So, while Nacua just spoke bluntly about the refs, he voiced a feeling shared across the league. The NFL says change is coming. Now the real question is simple: will it actually happen next season?