Amari Cooper sets Browns receiving record with 265 yards
HOUSTON -- Wide receiver Amari Cooper made history Sunday. And behind his monster performance in a 36-22 victory over the Houston Texans, the Cleveland Browns are on the precipice of their first playoff appearance since 2020.
Cooper caught 11 passes for a Browns-record 265 yards, surpassing the mark previously held by Josh Gordon (261 in 2013). He came back into the game in the fourth quarter following a late Texans rally, catching a 13-yard pass on fourth-and-7 to break the mark.
Cooper now has four 200-yard receiving games in his career -- one off the NFL record shared by Calvin Johnson and Lance Alworth -- and he became just the second NFL player to reach the milestone with three different franchises. Cooper also achieved the feat for the Raiders and Cowboys, joining Terrell Owens ( 49ers, Cowboys and Bengals) as the only other player to do it.
Cooper also passed 1,000 yards on the season, to become the first Cleveland player ever to put up back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Cooper finished with 1,160 receiving yards last season in his first with the Browns and has 1,250 this year with two regular-season games left to play.
The Browns (10-6) figure to be playing for playoff seeding in their final two games. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Cleveland now has a better than 99% chance to make the postseason, though the Browns can't clinch a playoff spot until next week with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills both winning Saturday.
Cleveland was alone in the 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture coming into the weekend. The Browns are still alive for the AFC North title, as well, trailing the Baltimore Ravens (11-3) by only a game-and-a-half. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.
Cooper set the tone early Sunday with a 53-yard reception from quarterback Joe Flacco on the opening drive to set up Cleveland's first score. In the second quarter, he hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass down the sidelines despite a defensive pass interference call for the longest Browns scoring grab since 2020.
Cooper later caught a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter and added a two-point reception early in the fourth quarter for a 36-7 lead.
He sat out for most of the fourth quarter, but returned after the Texans scored back-to-back touchdowns, including one after an onside kick, to trim Cleveland's lead to 14 points.
