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Pittsburgh’s George Pickens looked like he was going to have the biggest game for a receiver this weekend with his performance against Cincinnati on Saturday.
Amari Cooper had other ideas.
The Browns’ wideout put together the best game of his career, going off for 11 catches, 265 yards, and two touchdowns to help the Browns defeat the Texans 36-22 on Sunday.
Cooper’s banner day started on Cleveland’s first play from scrimmage, as quarterback Joe Flacco hit the receiver for a 53-yard gain down to Houston’s 6. A few plays later, Jerome Ford took a direct snap for a 4-yard touchdown to give the Browns an early 7-0 lead.
Then Cooper caught a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put Cleveland up 14-0 and the Browns were off to the races. While the Texans scored on a 98-yard kick return. the Browns had a 22-7 halftime lead off of David Njoku’s 7-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.
Cooper blew it open with a 7-yard touchdown to cap an 18-play, 94-yard drive that took up most of the third quarter. Cooper had a drive-extending, toe-dragging catch along the left sideline on fourth-and-8 in Houston territory.
After the Browns scored on Kareem Hunt’s 1-yard touchdown to go up 36-7 in the fourth quarter, Cleveland took out Flacco, Cooper, and most of the team’s starters.
By that time, Cooper had racked up 10 catches for a career-high 252 yards with two touchdowns.
But the Texans scored two quick touchdowns — getting the league’s first successful onside kick since 2021. After that, the Browns needed to put Flacco and Cooper back in to seal it. So, Cooper caught a 13-yard pass on fourth-and-7 to move the chains and set a new Browns single-game record with 265 yards.
Josh Gordon had the previous record, recording 261 yards on 10 receptions in a 2013 loss to the Jaguars.
Cooper became just the second player in NFL history to record a game with 200 yards receiving with three different teams, joining Terrell Owens.
Cooper also set a new career-high with 1,265…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/amari-coopers-record-day-powers-215102036.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-24 21:51:02
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