INGLEWOOD, Calif. – For the first time since Week 1, the Los Angeles Rams had receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back on the field together Thursday night in the team’s 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Rams coach Sean McVay would like to see it stay that way. Amid reports that the Rams had approached teams about trading Kupp ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline, McVay said he was “very happy” to have him back on the field.

“And I expect that to continue,” McVay said.

Kupp, who has been out since spraining his left ankle in Week 2, had five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. Nacua led the team with seven catches for 106 yards on nine targets.

“Teams have been reaching out,” McVay said when asked about the trade speculation. “Some of the things I saw there are just not true.”

Kupp said he “doesn’t think about those things” but said he thought there was something “cool about all those things happening outside the facility, but in a short week, every minute spent preparing, trying to get ready to come out here and play.

“And so it gave me an opportunity to focus on being where my feet are, preparing as best I can and coming out here and ripping it,” Kupp said. “And all that stuff is what it is.”

While the Rams expected to get Kupp back after he was inactive in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders, the team kept Nacua’s return closer to the vest. Nacua sprained a posterior cruciate ligament in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve. The Rams began his 21-day practice period to return from IR on Tuesday and activated him before Thursday’s game.

McVay said he was told Monday by vice president of sports medicine and performance Reggie Scott that there was a chance Nacua could play this week instead of waiting until Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks.

“(Nacua) said, ‘I don’t know, I feel pretty good,’” McVay said. “He went to a training session where he was running routes and doing a great job. His movement looked good. I talked to him and said, ‘Do you want to try this thing?’ And he said yes.”

McVay, who has preached the importance of “return to performance” versus “return to play” when discussing players returning from injury, said Nacua had “shown he was ready for that performance.”

“And this guy’s mentality, his mentality… he’s a war dad, he’s a stud,” McVay said. “I like his playing energy and what he brings. He was ready to go tonight and he had a big impact on the game.”

Due to the short week, Nacua was unable to participate in padded training. Quarterback Matthew Stafford said he threw Nacua “one, maybe two balls in practice this week, and that’s the first time since the first game.”

It was Nacua’s eighth career game (out of 19 played) with 100 receiving yards. According to ESPN Research, that ties with Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, who is tied for second in first 20 career games by a player in the Super Bowl era.

According to ESPN Research, the Rams scored a season-high 30 points on Thursday, snapping a streak of 10 straight games with fewer than 30.

And while McVay said “everyone had a hand” in the win, there’s no doubting the “spark” and “energy” that Kupp and Nacua’s return to the offense brought.

“There’s trust, there’s comfort, there’s a bond built with Matthew and Cooper over the years and then with Puka and Matthew last year and then into this season,” McVay said. “And so these guys are ballers.

“And Matthew brought out the best in everyone. But I thought Puka and Cooper were ready. They impressed.”