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Amari Cooper admits being 'kind of sensitive' to his performance in Browns loss to Raiders
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- Amari Cooper admits being 'kind of sensitive' to his performance in Browns loss to Raiders
BEREA — If you were trying to get the attention of Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper through social media after last Sunday, you weren't likely to get a response.
If you thought he might see the latest rumors from NFL insiders linking him to a trade to the Kansas City Chiefs to replace the injured Rashee Rice , good luck getting him to acknowledge it.
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It's been that kind of week for Cooper, just the latest in a season's worth of those kind of weeks.
"Usually if I don't have a good game, I try to stay off of social media," Cooper said Thursday. "That's one thing that I've learned, because I can be kind of sensitive about the way that I play, and just being on social media, there's nothing about hiding that."
Cooper's day in Las Vegas mirrored the one the rest of his teammates had against the Raiders . There were good moments that became bad in the blink of an eye, which is why the Browns left with a 20-16 loss .
There were several that stood out in particular for the Pro Bowl wide receiver who was facing the team that drafted him — although not in the city where he was drafted — for the first time. On a day when Cooper was targeted nine times, he finished with two catches for 16 yards and three other times he was a central figure in plays that proved to be game-changing for the Browns .
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It was the kind of day Cooper acknowledged the ability to quickly forget about would be beneficial.
Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Texans, Dec. 24, 2023, in Houston.
"I mean, sometimes I do wish I could erase memories from my brain, but unfortunately that's not the case," Cooper said. "So you do have to be extremely resilient. It's not always the easiest thing to do, but it's part of being a pro. It'll be better just to not happen in the first place, to just catch the ball. Yeah, it can be difficult for sure."
The first game-changing play came in the third quarter, when a pass from Deshaun Watson hit off his chest, bounced in the air — "I just didn't squeeze it," he admitted — and ended up in the hands of Raiders safety Tre'von Moehrig for an interception at the Las Vegas 32. The Raiders turned that pick into a touchdown and a 20-10 lead with 5:23 remaining in the quarter.
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The second could've completely changed the course of Cooper's day. He pulled in an 82-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, which would've given the Browns a 23-20 lead had it not be nullified by Nick Harris ' holding penalty.
"Just have to understand that that's a part of the game," Cooper said. "Plays get called back for penalties. That's why you have to play clean football because you never know when a huge opportunity like that will be for naught. So, yeah, it's extremely devastating."
The final play was the last one for the Browns. The fourth-and-3 play called with 41 seconds remaining had Cooper as the No. 1 option off the snap, with him supposed to run a corner route.
Cooper was jammed shortly after the snap by Moehrig. Watson, meanwhile, ended up being sacked by Las Vegas' Charles Snowden .
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"I think, first and foremost, I know I could have ran a better route," Cooper said. "I was actually the first read on that route. I didn't like the leverage that the defensive back was giving me, and so I kind of chopped off the route and just prepared for a scramble drill when I should have probably just broke it off.
"So I say that to say there's a lot of moving parts that outsiders don't truly understand about the particulars of any given play. So, yeah, we all could have done better on that play."
The immediate impact the game had on Cooper was obvious to anyone who's observed the wide receiver for any period of time. He was one of the first to leave the field after the game, and was out of the locker room even before it was opened to the media.
Cooper didn't deny how hard the loss hit him. His own role in it significantly added to the feelings.
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"I think every athlete has a sense of pride in the way that they play," Cooper said. "At the end of the day, we all just want to be respected for our performance, and you tend to get disrespected if you don't hold yourself to that standard. So I wouldn't say that's an inaccurate way to describe it. It has a lot to do with pride."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Amari Cooper: 'I can be kind of sensitive about the way I play'
