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The top five plays of NFL Week 1

Amazingly enough, Amari Cooper scored a touchdown on this play after it looked like he was tackled. (AP)
Amazingly enough, Amari Cooper scored a touchdown on this play after it looked like he was tackled. (AP)

We got a taste of the NFL on Thursday night, with the traditional season opening game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots. Most of the rest of the league returned on Sunday.

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There were plenty of great highlights from Sunday’s Week 1 action, and we’ve boiled it down to the five best plays of the day:

Cooper wills himself to a touchdown

Oakland Raiders receiver Amari Cooper has made a name for himself in his first two seasons, but one criticism is he hasn’t score enough. He apparently wants to change that, because he wouldn’t be kept out of the end zone on a great score against the Titans. Cooper showed remarkable balance to stay up when it looked like he’d be tackled, then Cooper just bulled into the end zone for the touchdown.

Wentz’s great escape

One reason the Philadelphia Eagles traded so much last year to move up and draft Carson Wentz is he’s a good athlete. He showed that on a touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor, escaping multiple defenders trying to sack him, and still keeping his head to find Agholor downfield for the score.

Hello, Kenny Golladay

Golladay, the Detroit Lions’ rookie, had a nice preseason debut with a couple impressive touchdowns, though he had just eight more yards the rest of the preseason. Golladay showed up again when the games started to count, catching a couple touchdowns in a win over the Arizona Cardinals. His second grab was a great one, as he dove to haul it in and score.

Beasley’s nameplate catch

You won’t see this very often: Dallas Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley made a circus catch by finally pinning the ball to the nameplate on the back of his jersey. He made it look pretty easy too.

Rodgers to Nelson, again

This wasn’t a play that will take your breath away, but it was a great play by two veterans who are on the same page. The Packers hurried to the line to catch the Seahawks in a personnel change. Off a quick snap (which caught the Seahawks with 12 men on the field), Jordy Nelson saw a breakdown in coverage due to a miscommunication by the Seahawks and got open on a post pattern. Rodgers hit him for the score, which was enormous in a close game. Green Bay won 17-9.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!