Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper feels like he’s unguardable. Considering the Sunday he had, it’s hard to argue with him. Despite all the injuries the Browns have suffered this season, losing RB Nick Chubb, QB Deshaun Watson, more tackles than you can shake a stick at, and about half their defense, Cooper has remained a constant. So has Cleveland’s ability to find ways to win.
They did it again yesterday, beating the Houston Texans, 36-22, in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score might suggest. Cooper had a monster day in helping the Browns build a 36-7 second-half lead. He finished with 11 receptions for 265 yards and two scores, his yards breaking WR Josh Gordon’s decade-old mark for the most in a single game in Browns’ history.
Speaking with NFL Network’s Stacey Dales after the win, Cooper wasn’t shy about his performance.
“I do truly feel like I’m unguardable,” Cooper told Dales. “It’s all about opportunities and I had a lot of opportunities today.”
Cooper made inroads to the record on the Browns’ first play of the game, hauling in a 53-yard pass deep down the middle of the field from the strong arm of QB Joe Flacco, the team’s fourth starting quarterback of the season but arguably its most successful. That catch didn’t end in six but set up a short touchdown by RB Jerome Ford three plays later.
Speaking with Dales, Cooper praised Flacco’s performance.
“Man, Joe throws a beautiful ball. Beautiful ball. Easy to catch…he’s a very cerebral quarterback,” Cooper said. “Honestly, he just has a good feel for the game.”
Cooper found the end zone early in the second quarter, gaining a step on the Texans’ cornerback down the left sideline and staying on his feet to waltz into the end zone for a 75-yard score. He scored from a shorter distance to cap an 18-play drive that took up nearly all of the third quarter, a 7-yard grab in contested coverage over the middle.
The only downside Sunday for the Browns was losing K Dustin Hopkins to a hamstring injury midway through the game. He got hurt chasing (and failing to tackle) Texans RB Dameon Pierce on a 98-yard kick return touchdown. But in one sense, it helped Cooper. Forced to go for it on fourth down late in the game when a field goal otherwise would’ve been the answer, Flacco hit Cooper along on the sideline to break Gordon’s record and finish with his 265 yards.
Still just 29, Cooper is having a career season. He’s up to 1,250 yards, already a single-season best with two regular-season games to play. And he’s averaging 17.4 yards per catch despite being a volume receiver and not a feast/famine type.
Cooper and Flacco are leading the Browns into the playoffs. With postseason probability sitting at 99 percent, Cleveland can officially punch its ticket Thursday night with a win over the New York Jets. Assuming they’ll play on Wild-Card weekend, opposing defenses will have to find out ways to guard and slow him down. Or else the Browns will keep on surging.
