BEREA, Ohio — The Browns’ big night Thursday got off to an ominous start when leading receiver Amari Cooper was ruled out with a heel injury less than two hours before their playoff-clinching 37-20 win over the New York Jets. Then, right before halftime, they lost their No. 2 wide receiver when Elijah Moore left with a concussion.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on a Zoom call Friday that Moore spent Thursday night at the hospital. He said 23-year-old was home but remains in the concussion protocol.
‘I don’t have a ton of other information other than say that he’s doing better,’ Stefanski said Friday. ‘He’s home. I’ve been texting with him.’
The Browns (11-5) will finish the regular season at the Cincinnati Bengals, either on Jan. 6 or 7. The NFL will set the date and time after Sunday’s games.
Moore was in the midst of having one of his best games with the Browns when he sustained the concussion with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. With Cooper out, he had taken on the challenge of being the primary wide receiver target for quarterback Joe Flacco, with five catches on six targets for 61 yards and a touchdown.
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The concussion occurred after Moore had caught a pass on a crossing pattern on second and 7 from the Browns 28 and gained 22 yards to midfield. As he was tackled by Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley, Moore landed and hit his head on the ground first.
Moore immediately began to go through what looked like convulsions while lying on the ground before the training staff got to him. He spent several minutes on the ground before sitting up first, then getting to his feet and walking with the trainers to the medical tent.
‘Those are always scary as we all know, but I will say this about him — I’m very proud of him,’ Stefanski said. ‘He was getting going. I thought the route he ran for that touchdown was outstanding. He’s done a great job for us, and with Amari going down, put him over there in that spot and didn’t miss a beat.’
The third-year pro whom the Browns acquired along with a third-round pick from the Jets in March had started to find his comfort zone in the passing game over the last two months of the season. He has set career highs with 59 catches for 640 yards and two touchdowns on 104 targets.
The connection Moore had with Flacco from their two seasons together in New York only helped both with that bond. Since Flacco took over as the starting quarterback in Week 13 at the Los Angeles Rams, Moore had been targeted 31 times with 16 catches for 222 yards and a touchdown.
Browns will monitor Amari Cooper going into regular-season finale at Bengals
Cooper is the other big receiver injury the Browns are continuing to track. Thursday night was the first game he had missed as a pro since Nov. 25, 2021, while he was with the Dallas Cowboys.
Stefanski was non-committal with regards to Cooper’s status against Cincinnati. He tried to go through early warmups but departed after taking a throw from Flacco.
‘I hope so, but it’s really hard to say,’ Stefanski said. ‘What happens on these short week, you go into it and you don’t know until the guys get out there on the field and have to move around. In Amari’s case, he couldn’t go, and he tried like crazy. I do think rest will be a big deal this weekend, and then we’ll see how he’s doing next week.’
The heel injury originally occurred near the end of Cooper’s 75-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter of a Dec. 24 win over the Houston Texans. He finished out that game with a franchise-record 265 yards on 11 catches, a performance that earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
No update for Dustin Hopkins, Corey Bojorquez injuries
Stefanski wouldn’t say too much on two other significant injuries that impacted the Jets game. The Browns played without both kicker Dustin Hopkins (left hamstring) and punter Corey Bojorquez (left quad), with recently signed practice squad players Riley Patterson and Matt Haack taking their places.
‘I don’t really have an update,’ Stefanski said. ‘I think Corey has probably a better chance than Dustin. We’ll see how that goes throughout the next few days.’
Patterson was four of five on PATs and added a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter against New York. Haack averaged 51.7 yards with a net of 41.7 yards on three punts.
‘Rest vs. rust’ a question Kevin Stefanski won’t answer now
If the Baltimore Ravens beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, the Ravens will clinch the AFC North and No. 1 seed in the AFC. That would leave the Browns essentially locked into the No. 5 seed.
It would also, as far as the Browns are concerned, make the game at Cincinnati meaningless in terms of impacting their playoff positioning. That could lead to Stefanski giving several key players the day off to rest them up for the playoffs.
‘I think it’s so dependent on where you are and what you feel like you need for your football team,’ Stefanski said. ‘Obviously there’s moving parts here going into these last ball games, so we’ll see how it plays out on Sunday and then we’ll make the appropriate decisions. It doesn’t change the fact that we want to finish strong.’
Kevin Stefanski connected to Paul Brown, Bill Belichick, Marty Schottenheimer
The win Thursday night gave the Browns 11 wins for the season. It’s the second time in four seasons Stefanski has coached them to 11 wins.
The only other coach in franchise history to have multiple 11-win seasons was Paul Brown. The legendary Pro Football Hall of Famer did so in 1951 and 1953.
That’s not the only Browns coach from the past Stefanski joined. His second playoff appearance with the team makes him the first since Marty Schottenheimer, who led the Browns to the playoffs from 1985-88, with multiple playoff appearances.
Thursday night’s win improved Stefanski’s regular-season record to 37-29. That puts him one win ahead of Bill Belichick, who won 36 games from 1991-95 with the Browns.
‘Yeah, as you can imagine, I don’t really spend time thinking about how I factor into that,’ Stefanski said. ‘I’m proud of this football team. I’m proud of the players. Look at that locker room. Look at how they are on the field. Look at them picking each other up. I think it’s about those guys out there on the field.’