Geelong-born Cameron Johnston and his booming right leg were among the stars as the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles kicked off the new NFL season with a win.
The Eagles held off a late-charging Atlanta Falcons 18-12 on Thursday in Philadelphia to mark the start of the NFL regular season.
Giant former South Sydney Rabbitohs junior Jordan Mailata, as expected, was not named in the Eagles' 46-man squad for the game but the team's other rookie Aussie, punter Johnston, showed no nerves in his debut.
Johnston was called on to boot the Eagles' spluttering offence out of trouble six times with an average of 47 yards per punt and a 65-yard bomb his longest.
It was Johnston's 46-yard punt with seven minutes to go in the game that set the Eagles up for a match-winning, 11-yard touchdown by running back Jay Ajayi.
Johnston, who grew up playing Aussie rules and was drafted by the Melbourne Demons in 2011, is battle-hardened for the pressure of the NFL after spending four years punting for Ohio State University in front of home crowds of more than 100,000.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had a difficult night, completing 19 of his 34 passes for just 117 yards while Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan also was rusty, connecting with 21 of his 43 passes for 251 yards.
The Eagles plan to take their time developing the 203cm tall, 157kg Mailata, who only played his first game of American football last month.
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