The Jets patiently waited more than a month while rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr. recovered from an ankle injury he sustained in Week 1 at Tennessee that landed him on the injured list.
In Sunday's 26-19 loss to the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Cooper provided exciting hints of his long-term potential among a group of receivers that includes Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell (who is injured) and others.
"I think Omar did a tremendous job at coming back from injury," QB Geno Smith (20-of-30 passing, 252 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT) said. "He fought just to get back out there, and what he did was showcase who he is. He's a playmaker. He's a guy who finds ways to make catches, and the tough catches, he makes them look easy. So really impressed with the way that he performed, and looking forward to building on that."
On the game's opening series, the Jets put together a 13-play, 48-yard drive that took 6:43 off the clock, but had to settle for Jason Sanders' 42-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. An offensive pass interference penalty on WR Tim Patrick erased Smith's 14-yard TD pass to Cooper.
"I mean, it sucks, but it's football," said Cooper after his 6 receptions on 7 targets for 103 yards (17.2 per). "Some things go your way, some things don't. Things happen. I'm sure, Tim. ... I talked to Tim. He thought Geno was scrambling. He said he didn't even really touch him [the DB], but I mean, any day it's football, so it sucks. But you got to keep moving on."
The Jets had multiple good-looking drives stall out in plus-territory including a pair of unsuccessful fourth-down attempts in the second quarter.
"The Patriots did a good job executing, and we just got to go back to the drawing board and come and just finish. Now next week [at home to 0-5 Miami], just look forward to finishing," Cooper said.
In the Jets' opening day victory over the Titans, Cooper, who starred last season on Indiana University's national championship team, showed his speed and elusiveness when he caught 1 pass for 30 yards before leaving the game with that ankle injury that sidelined him for 4 games.
"Obviously, the one catch that he had the first week, and battled his way back and makes some good plays for us today," said RB Braelon Allen, who had 17 carries in 78 yards in his second start for the injured Breece Hall.
Cooper did have a pair of receptions in the first half, one for 19 yards on a series the Jets failed to convert on fourth down and one for 6 yards before the Jets were forced to punt.
The Jets (2-4) were unable to finish on a couple of opportunities and trailed by 17-3 at halftime. After the Patriots failed to convert on a fourth-down play to start the second half, two plays later Smith rolled to his right and launched a deep pass that Cooper corralled in the end zone.
"So it looked like they were in Cover-4, and Garrett had a little out route, a deep out route," Cooper said. "And so we knew the safety was trying to kind of crash on him just because, I mean, it's Garrett Wilson. So my job is to go to and the other side, get the safety to think I'm running to the corner, and then cross his face and then just run."
The Jets were down a TD then pulled within 4 points on another successful Sanders field goal, making it 17-13.
A Patriots TD again pushed the Jets' deficit to 10 points before Jamien Sherwood's fumble recovery early in the fourth quarter led to another Sanders field goal. But the Jets were left to chase the game, failing to convert on several scoring opportunities. Nevertheless, Cooper's rapport in the game with Smith bodes well for the rest of the season, and beyond.
"It's continuously building," Cooper said of the QB-WR connection. "Obviously, I missed four games, so it was earlier this week I had to make sure I got wrapped up with him so we can connect and just make sure we had that timing. But it's continuously growing, and I'm liking where it's heading."
