Arizona Cardinals: Trouble Brewing? Marvin Harrison Jr. Already Frustrated After Week 1

While they didn’t come out on top, the Arizona Cardinals had a strong showing against a Buffalo Bills team that many think has a chance to make a deep playoff run.

The Cardinals, who were welcoming first-round wide receiver pick Marvin Harrison Jr. to his first NFL game, had a solid lead over the Bills before falling 34-28. Harrison Jr. had just a single catch for four yards.

Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. spoke out after his rough debut

Harrison Jr. addressed his poor debut when talking to the media Wednesday. Harrison Jr. said he wanted to do better personally, but more importantly, he wanted to get the win.

In an article from ESPN, Harrison Jr. explained that he thought the Cardinals would have had a better chance to win if he had played up to his standard.

“I mean obviously it wasn’t great,” Harrison said. “Definitely wasn’t what I expected, what I wanted to happen, what the team wanted to happen. Obviously, you wanted to come out with a victory and we didn’t do that.”

“That’s why it kind of brought me here is to help the team, help the offense go,” he said. “So, I have to do a better job of that going forward.

“I got to get open and catch the ball. That’s my job as a receiver. That is your job description. That’s what I got to do a better job.”

Fans pointed out some plays where it looked like Harrison Jr. was open, yet quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t get him the ball. The initial video doesn’t bode well for Murray, but a deeper explanation shows why he may have decided to hold on to the ball.

Kyler Murray danced in the pocket for 6 seconds and somehow NEVER SAW A WIDE OPEN MARVIN HARRISON JR FOR A GAME-CHANGING TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/HG5ysapKB8

— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2024

I don’t think this Kyler Murray “miss” of a wide open Marvin Harrison Jr was as egregious as some may want to believe.

Ideally, it would be great if he were aggressive and could hang in the pocket to leverage it, but not his game.

Also, he was probably looking to just get the… pic.twitter.com/tIwQqAnHTD

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) September 10, 2024

Murray addressed the situation saying they want to get Harrison Jr. more touches, but that he doesn’t want to force anything. The Cardinals and Harrison Jr. will have a chance to redeem themselves in week two when they take on the Detroit Lions.

“Obviously we want to get him more touches,” Murray said. “That’s not a secret, but I don’t want to go forcing things for sure.”

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