Alabama NFL roundup: Amari Cooper turns in rare game

Amari Cooper broke the franchise single-game record for receiving yards as the Cleveland Browns defeated the Houston Texans 36-22 on Sunday.

In the fifth 200-yard game in Browns’ history, the former Alabama All-American had 11 receptions for 265 yards and two touchdowns to surpass the Cleveland record of 261 yards by Josh Gordon in a 32-28 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 1, 2013.

“He’s a consummate pro,” Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said of Cooper. “He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. What he knows about this game, what he sees about this game, he’s like a savant out there, and combine that with the route-running ability. He’s one of this team’s leaders. These guys love Amari. And to see him come through was awesome.”

The Browns’ single-game record was just one of the accomplishments for Cooper on Sunday. The wide receiver:

· Posted the 18th game in NFL history in which a player had at least 265 receiving yards.

· Became the fourth player in NFL history with at least three career games with 200 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions, joining another former Alabama star, Don Hutson, who had four, and Charlie Hennigan and Tyreek Hill with three apiece.

· Became the sixth player in NFL history with at least four games with 200 or more receiving yards. Lance Alworth and Calvin Johnson had five apiece. Cooper joined Huston, Hennigan and Jerry Rice with four.

· Joined Alworth and Johnson as the only players with four games of at least 210 receiving yards.

· Became the 20th player in NFL history with a game that included 250 receiving yards and two TD receptions and the only one who also had a 2-point conversion. Cleveland lost kicker Dustin Hopkins to a hamstring injury during Sunday’s game and went for 2 after its final three touchdowns. The only other player with at least 200 receiving yards and a 2-point conversion in the same game is former UAB standout Roddy White, who had 11 receptions for 201 yards and two touchdowns with a 2-point conversion catch in the Atlanta Falcons’ 39-32 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 24, 2010.

· Passed Ozzie Newsome for second place on Alabama’s NFL receptions list. Cooper has 667 receptions. Newsome had 662. The Crimson Tide’s NFL leader is Julio Jones with 909 receptions.

· Joined Benjamin Russell High School alumnus Terrell Owens as the only players to record 200-yard receiving games with three teams. Cooper had one 200-yard game with the Oakland Raiders and two with the Dallas Cowboys before Sunday’s game for Cleveland. Owens had 200-yard receiving games in 2000 for the San Francisco 49ers, 2008 for the Cowboys and 2010 for the Bengals.

· Became the first Browns player to record 1,000 receiving yards in consecutive seasons. Cooper has 72 receptions for a career-high 1,250 yards in 2023. Last season, he had 78 receptions for 1,160 yards.

Cooper opened Sunday’s game with a 53-yard reception on the first snap. He scored on 75- and 7-yard touchdown passes by quarterback Joe Flacco.

Cooper has increased his receiving yardage in each of the four games that Flacco has started. An injury to starter Deshaun Watson caused Cleveland to reach out for Flacco, who is the Browns’ fourth starting quarterback this season.

“To be completely candid, I would attribute most of it to Joe,” Cooper said. “He just has an incredible feel for the game. He has an incredible arm. Obviously, the relationship between a receiver and the quarterback is a symbiotic relationship. The best way to explain it is we mesh well together.”

Cleveland improved to 10-5, putting the Browns on the brink of their second playoff appearance of the past 21 seasons with two games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

Cooper was among the 39 former Alabama players who got on the field on the 16th Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.

Eight other former Alabama players were involved in the Cleveland-Houston game:

· Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. was designated as a game-day inactive. An ankle injury kept Anderson out of the lineup for the second game in a row.

· Jerome Ford started at running back for the Browns. Ford ran for 25 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries and had a reception that lost 2 yards. Ford scored the first points of the game on a 4-yard run with 13:18 left in the first quarter.

· Christian Harris started at linebacker for the Texans. Harris made seven tackles and broke up one pass.

· Browns offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III did not record any stats. Metchie was targeted three times but did not have any receptions.

· Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive tackle for the Browns. Tomlinson made one tackle.

· Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o made one tackle on defense and one tackle on special teams.

· Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Atlanta Falcons 29, Indianapolis Colts 10

· Colts cornerback Tony Brown is not eligible to play after being suspended by the team for the final three games of the regular season “for conduct detrimental to the team.”

· Colts linebacker Ronnie Harrison made three tackles.

· DeMarcco Hellams started at safety for the Falcons. Hellams made seven tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

Green Bay Packers 33, Carolina Panthers 30

· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers.

· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Packers running back Kenyan Drake is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Panthers defensive tackle LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) made one tackle.

· Panthers wide receiver Cam Sims is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Bryce Young started at quarterback for the Panthers. Young completed 23-of-36 passes for 312 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Young reached a career high in passing yards. He threw touchdown passes to wide receiver DJ Chark of 11 yards with 7:14 to play and 10 yards with 4:05 to play as Carolina overcame a 14-point deficit to tie the game at 30-30. Young also had 17 yards on four carries.

Detroit Lions 30, Minnesota Vikings 24

· Lions safety Brian Branch made six tackles, recorded one sack, intercepted one pass, broke up another and forced one fumble. Minnesota recovered the fumble, but Branch got a takeway when he recorded the third interception of his rookie season with 16 seconds left in the first quarter. Branch picked off Minnesota quarterback Nick Mullens at the Detroit 20-yard line. The sack was the first of the season for Branch as he became the fourth NFL player this season with a sack, interception and forced fumble in the same game.

· Isaiah Buggs started at defensive tackle for the Lions. Buggs did not record any stats.

· Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and caught four passes for 20 yards. Gibbs scored on a 14-yard run as Detroit took a 17-7 lead with 1:48 left in the first half and a 3-yard run as the Lions went in front 30-21 with 11:07 to play. Gibbs became the third Detroit rookie to reach 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns, joining Billy Sims in 1980 and Barry Sanders in 1989.

· Jameson Williams started at wide receiver for the Lions. Williams had five receptions for 43 yards.

New York Jets 30, Washington Commanders 28

· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen made four tackles and registered three quarterback hits.

· Commanders running back Derrick Gore did not record any stats.

· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis made one tackle and registered one quarterback hit.

· C.J. Mosley (Theodore) started at linebacker for the Jets. Mosley made six tackles.

· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made five tackles.

· Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) was designated as a game-day inactive. A hamstring injury kept Robinson out of the lineup for the second straight game.

· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made two tackles.

Seattle Seahawks 20, Tennessee Titans 17

· Titans defensive back Shyheim Carter did not record any stats. Tennessee elevated Carter from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.

· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Titans. Henry ran for 88 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, caught an 11-yard pass and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass. Henry opened the scoring by tossing a TD pass to tight end Chig Okonkwo with 14:14 left in the first half. Henry scored on a 2-yard run as Tennessee took a 17-13 lead with 3:21 to play.

· Jarran Reed started at nose tackle for the Seahawks. Reed made two tackles, recorded one sack and forced one fumble. Tennessee recovered the fumble. Reed has seven sacks this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 12

· Calvin Ridley started at wide receiver for the Jaguars. Ridley had six receptions for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Ridley scored the game’s final two touchdowns on an 18-yard pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence with 50 seconds left in the third quarter and a 1-yard pass from quarterback C.J. Beathard with 4:36 to play. Ridley recorded his sixth game with at least two TD receptions.

· Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Chicago Bears 27, Arizona Cardinals 16

· Eddie Jackson started at safety for the Bears. Jackson made three tackles.

Miami Dolphins 22, Dallas Cowboys 20

· Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) started at left guard for the Dolphins.

· Dolphins defensive tackle Raekwon Davis did not record any stats.

· Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Cowboys linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) did not record any stats.

· Dolphins defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand did not record any stats.

· Tua Tagovailoa started at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa completed 24-of-37 passes for 293 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions as he surpassed 4,000 passing yards in a season for the first time in his career. Tagovailoa threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Raheem Mostert as Miami took a 13-7 lead with 17 seconds left in the first half.

· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle had a 50-yard reception that allowed him to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the season before leaving the game twice with injuries. Waddle became the ninth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, joining Odell Beckham Jr., Ja’Marr Chase, Mike Evans, A.J. Green, John Jefferson, Justin Jefferson, Randy Moss and Michael Thomas.

New England Patriots 26, Denver Broncos 23

· Christian Barmore started at defensive tackle for the Patriots. Barmore tied for the Patriots’ lead with eight tackles, recorded three sacks, registered four quarterback hits and forced one fumble. Before Sunday, Barmore’s top tackle total had been six, and he’d never had more than one sack in a game while compiling a career total of 9.5. Barmore became the first New England player with three sacks and more than six tackles in the same game since Mike Vrabel on Dec. 23, 2007.

· Broncos safety Kareem Jackson has not been activated after serving an NFL-imposed, four-game suspension.

· Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) started at linebacker for the Patriots. Jennings made two tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy had three receptions for 44 yards.

· Patriots quarterback Mac Jones dressed for the game but did not play.

· Broncos inside linebacker Drew Sanders made three tackles.

· Patrick Surtain II started at cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made six tackles.

· Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) made two tackles, recorded one sack and forced one fumble. Wilson did not have a sack in New England’s first 12 games this season, but he has one in each of the past three.

Week 16 started on Thursday night, when the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the New Orleans Saints 30-22, and continued on Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11 and the Buffalo Bills defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 24-22.

Week 16 concludes on Monday, with three games – Las Vegas Raiders-Kansas City Chiefs at noon CST on CBS and Nickelodeon, New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles at 3:30 p.m. on FOX and Baltimore Ravens-San Francisco 49ers on ABC.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.