Pain can’t stop Amari Cooper from making big plays in Browns win

On Jan 2, 2023

LANDOVER, Md. − Amari Cooper has been playing hurt for at least four games. The reality is, it’s probably even longer for the Browns receiver.

Cooper, despite those injuries, had three big catches, including two touchdowns, in the Browns’ 24-10 win at the Washington Commanders on Sunday. It’s a performance he knows wouldn’t have happened to the version of him who existed while he was in college at Alabama.

“I wasn’t always willing to play hurt,” Cooper said. “I’m not going to lie, but when I was at ‘Bama, I had to learn the hard way. I kind of like lost my spot a little bit. (Alabama coach Nick) Saban was like, ‘Hey man, keep taking yourself out of the game, you know what I mean?’ And he sat me down and talked to me. He was like, he made me view it another way. He was like sometimes you’re not 100%, 80% of you, 75% of you might be better than a hundred percent of the guy who’s behind you and 80% of you might be enough to still dominate the guy who’s in front of you.”

Whatever percent Cooper was on Sunday was still good enough to put together a three-catch, 105-yard, two-touchdown performance. All three of those catches were part of a second-half showing by the Browns offense where they turned a 7-3 halftime deficit into a 14-points win.

All three of those catches came while Cooper continues to battle what he calls a “core muscle injury” that occurred just days before the Browns’ Dec. 11 loss in Cincinnati. Those three catches and those 105 yards now give him 15 catches and 277 yards since he sustained that injury.

In other words, Saban’s words have proven to be correct. Those words are what has helped Cooper become a multi-time Pro Bowler and six-time 1,000-yard receiver in his eight professional seasons.

“Once I kind of changed my perspective about playing injured I realized, and a lot of the games that I would play injured, I would have some of my best games,” said Cooper, who now has 1,109 yards on 76 catches and nine touchdowns in his first season with the Browns. “I didn’t know why? I just persevered through it and I would have a better game than I ever had before when I was at ‘Bama and stuff. And it was like, this is weird. You know what I mean? So I kind of got in that mode and kind of told myself, ‘Hey, you play your best games hurt, so yeah.'”

There were times where the injury impacted Cooper against Washington. The most notable time may have also been his biggest catch, a 46-yard touchdown in the third quarter to give the Browns a 10-7 lead.

Cooper ran a deep out route and quarterback Deshaun Watson perfectly placed the ball so he could catch it and run. Commanders cornerback Kendell Fuller was right there to potentially make the stop, except that Cooper shook him off and took off for the end zone.

From there, it became a matter of Cooper watching himself on the giant screen at east end of the stadium. Which, he admits, wasn’t just about admiring what he was doing.

“I did peep at the screen,” Cooper said. “Usually I wouldn’t, but as we all know, I’m kind of banged up. I could have ran a little faster, but that would’ve hurt. So I was looking like, ‘Do I really need to open up? But typically I don’t because I’ve just got full confidence in my — I don’t care who’s out there, I’m just going to roll with my technique and just get to the end zone.”