Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper had the best performance of his career in Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, and fantasy football managers in the playoff semifinals either reaped the benefits or laid victim to his dominance.
Cooper set a single-game franchise record with a career-high 265 yards along with two touchdowns on 11 catches to lead the Browns to a 36-22 victory. The former Raider and Cowboy joined Hall of Famer Terrell Owens as the only receivers in NFL history to record 200-yard games for three different franchises.
Cooper asserted himself early on, as he made one circus catch after another to the astonishment of the Texans defense. He found the end zone early in the second quarter on a 75-yard touchdown catch. His second score came in the third quarter on a seven-yard pass from Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco, who finished with 370 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions for his third straight 300-yard game.
Fans on social media were left in awe by Cooper’s performance, and a lot of them expressed gratitude for singlehandedly propelling them to a fantasy football championship:
Amari Cooper fantasy managers rn 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ctzD3ts4A9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper is going to live in fantasy football managers heads all week. Positively & negatively. Bringer of both life & death with his stat line today
— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant) December 24, 2023
The correct answer was Amari Cooper
45.1 PPR POINTS IN THREE QUARTERS 🤯 https://t.co/pvhUOBz7n8 pic.twitter.com/mr5D0KJ96L
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper so far:
8 rec
220 yards
2 TDs
42.0 fantasy pointsA LEGENDARY GAME TO REMEMBER AND HE’S STILL GOING pic.twitter.com/oNO5Wme6cE
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper for President. #DawgPound #NFL
— Matt Wilson (@CoachWilson66) December 24, 2023
Amari 🥹🥹🥹
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper managers congratulations on making it to the fantasy Championship 🫡
— Sleeper (@SleeperHQ) December 24, 2023
Live look at Amari Cooper with my fantasy team pic.twitter.com/F2kcsmyvty
— Tyvis Powell (@1Tyvis) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper fantasy managers currently 📈: pic.twitter.com/az92ulbxfZ
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) December 24, 2023
Live look at people that are playing against Amari Cooper in fantasy today: pic.twitter.com/f1gyRLWDp0
— theScore Bet (@theScoreBet) December 24, 2023
Watching Amari Cooper end my fantasy football seasonpic.twitter.com/DLhvLYLWxd
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) December 24, 2023
Flacco to Cooper is the new Kosar to Slaughter.
— Al Pawlowski (@AlPawlowski) December 24, 2023
Joe Flacco and Amari Cooper one random Sunday pic.twitter.com/D9vU24S1gp
— bing (@kiwiaregreen) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper & Joe Flacco today pic.twitter.com/QTp3gHiQoZ
— mullet Lee (@PhiLeePhilly) December 24, 2023
Most games with 200 receiving yards in the Super Bowl Era
Calvin Johnson 5
Amari Cooper 4
Jerry Rice 4 pic.twitter.com/LKp3FXthGe— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 24, 2023
Me looking at Amari Cooper on my bench with 45 fantasy points and counting pic.twitter.com/1vOhNXoPm2
— Hoochie Hashira (@BlizzyEscoe) December 24, 2023
Amari Cooper saving my fantasy season pic.twitter.com/lkPe4OT7Jy
— Whistle (@WhistleSports) December 24, 2023
The Browns’ win puts them in the driver’s seat for one of the wild-card spots in the AFC. Cleveland (10-5) is looking to end a two-year playoff drought, and Cooper’s performance will likely help the team do just that.
The Texans (8-7), on the other hand, are falling behind in the crowded playoff race in the AFC. Houston was playing without star rookie C.J. Stroud (concussion) for the second straight game, but the team is hoping to have him back in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans.
Cooper and the Browns will have a quick turnaround, as they will return to action on Thursday Night Football against the New York Jets.
