Puka Nacua didn’t exactly “say” a long quote about Sam Darnold – he mainly posted about him on social media and threw a bit of shade.

What Puka did

  • During Super Bowl LX, as Sam Darnold and the Seahawks were playing (and ultimately winning the title), Puka Nacua went on X (Twitter) and posted Darnold’s name with a laughing/crying emoji, like: “Sam Darnold” with a laughing emoji.
  • The post was widely read as a jab at Darnold’s so-so stat line in the game, even though the Seahawks still won the Super Bowl.

How people took it

  • Many fans and analysts interpreted the post as Puka mocking Darnold’s performance and downplaying the fact that he was now a Super Bowl–winning QB.
  • Analyst Emmanuel Acho publicly called Puka out, saying he needed to calm down and show Sam Darnold respect since Darnold had beaten the Rams and then went on to win the Super Bowl.
  • A Seahawks defensive player, linebacker Ernest Jones IV, also fired back at Puka in media comments, making sure the slight didn’t go unchecked and essentially labeling Puka’s move “goofy.”

Earlier shade from Puka

  • This wasn’t totally out of nowhere: a prior article in late 2025 noted that after a Rams–Seahawks game, Puka had already taken “serious shade” at Darnold by bringing up one of Darnold’s old low moments (“seeing ghosts”) and reminding people of his past struggles.

So, in one line

Puka Nacua basically mocked Sam Darnold on X by posting his name with a laughing/crying emoji during/after Super Bowl LX , which many saw as a disrespectful shot at Darnold’s performance and sparked backlash from analysts and Seahawks players.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.