Darius Cooper keeps turning a handful of targets into touchdowns, and Jalen Hurts is making sure that is not an accident. With DeVonta Smith sidelined again, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback said Wednesday that he and the second-year receiver spent an hour together one-on-one last week, and Cooper said the payoff showed up on his 62-yard touchdown in London.
“Every route you run”
Asked how the long score against Jacksonville grew out of that trust, Cooper kept it simple. “You communicate with someone, you know them, you trust them,” he said. “So when moments like that come up in the game, it’s like we talked about it.” Hurts knew where he would be, and Cooper knew Hurts would be looking for him. “Every route you run, you want to run like you’re getting the ball,” Cooper said. “So ultimately, that’s what I did, and his part, you know, he looked my way.”
Cooper beat his man deep in the second quarter, adjusted to a throw back toward the middle of the field and ran untouched into the end zone for a 14-7 lead. The Jaguars won 19-17 on Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal at the gun, and that one play accounted for more than a quarter of Philadelphia’s 232 total yards.
Four touchdowns on seven catches
Cooper made the Eagles as an undrafted rookie out of Tarleton State last year and caught nine passes for 92 yards in 13 games without a score. This season he has seven catches for 130 yards, and four of them have gone for touchdowns: one at Tennessee in Week 2, two against the Rams in Week 4 and the 62-yarder in London. He made his first career start this season.
Hurts on building new chemistry
Hurts was asked how much trust he is building with Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon and Cooper while Smith is out. “Building a lot of trust, building a lot of trust,” he said. He said his mindset is to raise the standard of his own approach and be more intentional, and he used Cooper as the example: “Last week we met one-on-one for an hour.”
Hurts said the chemistry with his receivers used to come naturally. With this group, he has to work at it. Brandon Lee Gowton reported that Hurts described the meeting as a way to strengthen their bond.
A bigger role against Carolina?
The timing matters. Smith (hamstring/toe) and Saquon Barkley (hamstring) did not practice again Wednesday as the Eagles (2-3) prepared to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and try to end a three-game losing streak. If Smith misses another game, Cooper’s deep speed is one of the few proven big-play options left in the Philadelphia passing game.
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