Amari Cooper tossed one of the worst passes in NFL history on a trick play in Monday night’s 32-13 victory over the Bengals. The Browns receiver threw a second-drive pick directly to Cincinnati defensive back Vonn Bell.
“It was an abomination,” Cooper said after the game, via the official transcript. “It just kept running through my mind that if he wasn’t open, I needed to just throw it away. I didn’t realize how hard it was to throw it away. That is what I tried to do. I did not try to throw it to him. I was throwing it back to the line of scrimmage, and I looked up and it was in another guy’s hands. It was terrible.”
Late in the first quarter, Cooper took a pitch from Nick Chubb and looked to throw deep to wideout Michael Woods. The Bengals covered up the play well, leaving Cooper nowhere to throw. His apparent effort to throw it away came up woefully short.
“I was very excited,” Cooper said. “I saw it on film work a couple times. It was bad. Much respect to Jacoby (Brissett) and the other quarterbacks out there because they’ve got a tough position. I’m just going to stick to getting open.”
Jacoby Brissett agreed with Cooper’s assessment.
“He is coming to school with me tomorrow,” Brissett said, laughing. “That play is not in [the playbook] no more — I am just letting you know that.”
Cooper atoned for his awful pass by doing what he does best: Burning defensive backs. The wideout generated 131 yards on five catches with a touchdown. His highlight came on a 53-yard bomb from Brissett on third-down after the Bengals had finally cut into Cleveland’s lead.
“I don’t think they will have me throwing any more passes,” Cooper laughed. “It feels like the whole world is watching you when you make a bad play like that. I understand that the game is long, and there are ample opportunities to make up for the bad plays that you make.”