HOUSTON — Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper entered Sunday's game against the Houston Texans just 15 yards away from recording 1,000 receiving yards this season and making franchise history in doing so. It only took one play for that to happen.
After a 36-yard opening kick return by Pierre Strong Jr., the Browns offense took the field for the opening drive. On The first play, quarterback Joe Flacco hit Cooper deep in the middle with a perfectly placed ball, a 52-yard bomb downfield.
Those 53-yards saw Cooper surpass 1,000 receiving yards on the season—marking his seventh career 1,000-yard season. But it also marked a moment in Browns' history.
Cooper became the first Brown to ever notch 1,000 receiving yards in back-to-back seasons after recording 1,160 receiving yards in 2022.
Only one other player in Browns' history ever even tallied two 1,000-yard seasons with the team in general—tight end Ozzie Newsome.
Cooper's history-making moment set the Browns up on Houston's 6-yard line, and two plays later, Cleveland took an early 7-0 lead over the Texans with a Jerome Ford rushing touchdown.
But it wasn't the end of his record-setting performance.
After the connection between Flacco and Cooper continued throughout the game, Cooper was on pace to set another Browns franchise record—most receiving yards in a single game.
Cooper reached that record in the fourth quarter of the game on a 13-yard pass from Flacco. After hitting 265 yards on the day, Cooper surpassed former Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon's record of 261 yards in a game set back in 2013.
It was a day of record-setting for Cooper in a big game and electric outing from his and his quarterback.
