Amari Cooper didn’t play on a significant number of snaps in his Buffalo Bills debut, but boy, did he make the most of them.Â
The five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver played on just 19 snaps in Buffalo’s Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans, a still impressive feat considering that he’d only been with the organization for five days at the time of kickoff. The Cleveland Browns dealt Cooper to the Bills last Tuesday, and though fans were eager to see the team’s new top wideout suit up as soon as possible, the seven-time 1,000-yard wide receiver described the idea of playing for a new club just five days after being acquired as “uncharted territory†during his introductory media availability.
A crash course in the playbook allowed Cooper to not only take the field in Week 7, but make his presence known; he caught four passes on five targets for 66 yards in the 34-10 win, formally introducing himself to the Buffalo faithful with a third-quarter score that gave the team its first lead of the day.
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It’s hopefully the first of many the veteran will score throughout his time in Orchard Park, but this one was a bit unique in that he was given an assist from one of his teammates. No, he didn’t suddenly start playing hockey; the Bills lined up in shotgun with an empty backfield on Tennessee’s 12-yard line, with Cooper aligned in the slot. Quarterback Josh Allen examined the defense and decided to switch to the second play the team had called in the huddle, repeatedly screaming “alert.†Having been with the team for just five days, Cooper did not know his new assignment, prompting him to look to rookie Keon Coleman with shrugged shoulders as to ask 'What do I do?'
Coleman simply pointed in front of Cooper as to intimate 'Run straight.' That’s exactly what Cooper did; the 30-year-old ran to the goalline and put a nasty juke on Titans defender Quandre Diggs, breaking free in the endzone to secure his first score as a Bill on what was also his first catch.
Fox Sports host Emmanuel Acho broke down the play on Twitter, describing moments of the sort as why he loves football:
Cooper got by with a little help from his friends, and speaking of Coleman, he, too, was stellar in the victory, catching four passes for a career-high (and team-leading) 125 yards. The Buffalo faithful have spent the last week thinking about the potential of the team’s offense with Cooper and Coleman leading the way out wide, and Sunday showed that the plan has promise.