WR Amari Cooper identifies the most ‘impressive thing’ about Bills win over Titans

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper was stellar in his debut with the team, but he wants to focus on the play on his position group.

Kyle Silagyi | Oct 21, 2024

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Much of the discourse exiting the Buffalo Bills’ 34-10 win over the Tennessee Titans has centered around the play of Amari Cooper, a multi-time Pro Bowl wide receiver whom the team acquired from the Cleveland Browns less than a week before their Week 7 clash.

And the attention was certainly earned. Cooper played admirably despite having just four days to internalize his new playbook, catching four passes for 66 yards and one score in his Buffalo debut. He showcased an unexpectedly solid rapport with quarterback Josh Allen as he opened the field up for the team’s other pass-catchers, suggesting that his addition is set to have the exact offensive impact the Bills’ brass intended.

Cooper, however, doesn’t necessarily want the attention. A generally reserved individual who doesn’t like to focus on his personal accolades and achievements, the veteran shifted focus to the play of his teammates when talking to reporters following the team’s win, stating that the overall performance of the receiving corps was the more important takeaway from Sunday’s game.

“I’m sorry, that was the impressive thing about [Sunday],” Cooper said. “A lot of guys stepped up and made plays at the wide receiver position. Congratulations to the young buck Keon [Coleman] for his first 100-yard game, he really put together a string of plays out there. I still believe that the play that was called [back], that was a touchdown. It looked like he got, like, three feet in, and he definitely had control of the ball. It was a lot of impressive plays made out there by the receiver group.”

Cooper mentions the play of Coleman, Buffalo’s rookie pass-catcher who led the team in receiving yards in the win with 125. It was the best statistical outing of the 21-year-old’s career, and he wasn’t the team’s only young pass-catcher who impressed on Sunday; third-year contributor Khalil Shakir continued his ever-reliable play as he caught all seven of his targets for 65 yards while sophomore tight end Dalton Kincaid made a few crucial catches to the tune of 52 yards.

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Allen finished the game with 323 passing yards, his first time eclipsing the 300-yard plateau this year. It’s also the first time this season that the Bills have had a 100-yard pass catcher and just the third time they’ve had several receivers tally more than 50 receiving yards. Cooper played a significant role in the group’s emergence; though his snaps were scant (only posting 19 throughout the game), defenses had to account for his presence when he was on the field, opening up opportunities for the team’s other pass-catchers. This idea perhaps most prominently manifested on Ty Johnson’s fourth-quarter touchdown reception; Cooper drew defenders in the end zone over the middle of the field, leaving the running back open as a check-down option for the easy score.

Cooper’s impact on Buffalo’s offense is already discernible, and he hasn’t even been with the organization for a week. His individual production and the ramifications he has on the receiving corp only figure to increase as he further acclimates to the team, a scary thought for the rest of the league.

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