Will We See An Amari Cooper Encore?
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
The 2023 Cleveland Browns are back in the playoffs. What a wild sentence to type. Try saying it out loud. It’s fun! Their Wild Card round matchup is against the Houston Texans, whom they previously toppled, 36-22, headlined by Amari Cooper‘s record-breaking performance featuring 11 receptions for 265 yards and two touchdowns.
Just judging by highlights from their last meeting, it seems obvious that Cleveland would handily make it 2-0 vs. the Texans this season. However, the Browns won’t be playing the same Houston team they defeated on Christmas Eve, as the Texans’ star rookie QB C.J. Stroud returns to make a deep playoff push.
Can Cooper Put on an Encore?
Cooper set personal and team Reagor’s when the Browns last traveled to NRG stadium. Without Cooper, the Browns may not have won the game at all, but definitely not in such convincing fashion. Now it is up to the Texans’ defense to attempt and shut down the Flacco-Cooper connection.
It won’t be an easy task, though. Even if DeMeco Ryans’ team cuts Cooper’s previous production in half, that would still be a legacy game for Cooper. It will be nice seeing Flacco air the ball out to other targets, such as the rising David Njoku or the returning Elijah Moore, but it is far more important for Cooper to put on another show for this Browns team to move ever closer to a showdown with their nemesis, the Baltimore Ravens.
Flacco Must Return To Mid-2010s Form
“Is Joe Flacco elite,” a question as old as time. One thing is for sure, playoff Joe Flacco certainly is. Minus the interceptions, Flacco has been playing about as well as he has ever has in his NFL career. The one thing stopping him from breaking through to the upper echelon of QB play is turnovers.
In 2012, during the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl run, Flacco threw for 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The way Flacco is playing now is great; he is on a four-game winning streak. Still, if he wants to win another Super Bowl MVP, he has got to cut down on the turnovers.
In five games this season, Flacco has eight interceptions. He threw two last time he played Houston, one of them essentially being an “arm punt” and another at the end of the first half. The Texans defense this season doesn’t come up with a lot of interceptions, so they present perhaps the best opportunity for Flacco to get the turnovers under control.
Stroud vs. A Healing Secondary
The former Ohio State Buckeye has been on fire this season, but the Browns are the worst matchup for this young QB, who missed their last meeting. The Browns’ defense, ranked No. 1 in a multitude of categories, will have their hands full, but it should be nothing defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz can’t handle.
Stroud completely shredded mediocre defenses this season, but against decent units, he often struggled, most notably a well-rounded New York Jets defense that held him to just 91 yards on 23 attempts.
Stroud did leave that game early due to a head injury suffered late in the fourth quarter, but at that point the game was already essentially over (the Jets won 30-6). Schwartz should study whatever film he can get his hands on for that Jets-Texans game and consider the game plan. If the Browns can shut down Stroud, this may look a lot like their last meeting, even under much different circumstances.
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