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 receiving yards — becoming the first Browns wide receiver to have multiple seasons of 1,000 yards. Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome was the only previous Browns player to have multiple 1,000-yard seasons.
The Browns had to play most of the game without kicker Dustin Hopkins, who suffered a left hamstring injury while trying to chase down Dameon Pierce on his 98-yard kick return for a touchdown.
Flacco finished 27-of-42 for 368 yards with three touchdowns and two picks. In just his fourth game for Cleveland, Flacco joined Josh McCown as the only Browns players to throw for at least 300 yards in three consecutive games.
The Houston offense was stuck in the mud until Davis Mills came in late in the game. While Case Keenum was 11-of-17 for 62 yards with two interceptions, Mills was 15-of-32 for 149 yards with two touchdowns. Mills had been in the game sporadically in the first half, but Keenum was the clear No. 1 — likely to Houston’s detriment.
With the win, the Browns are now 10-5. This is just the team’s third 10-win season since coming back to the league in 1999 as an expansion franchise and the second under Stefanski. As the AFC’s current No. 5 seed, Cleveland will play the Jets on Thursday night and will clinch a playoff spot with a victory. The team will end the season against Cincinnati in Week 18.
Houston is still in the mix for a playoff spot at 8-7, but the path is tougher. Now at No. 8 in the AFC, the Texans will finish their home slate against the Titans next week before finishing the season at Indianapolis in Week 18. On a positive note, there’s a chance quarterback C.J. Stroud will be back for Houston next Sunday.