marvin-harrison-jr.jpg
Imagn Images

Marvin Harrison Jr.'s first half against the Seattle Seahawks looked like a snapshot of his rocky sophomore season. The Arizona Cardinals wide receiver bobbled a would-be completion deep in Seahawks territory, and the miscue turned into an interception that killed a promising drive. An earlier miscommunication with Kyler Murray had already resulted in another turnover.

By halftime of "Thursday Night Football," Arizona trailed 14-3 and Harrison's struggles were drawing heavy criticism. But Murray never stopped throwing his way -- and Harrison eventually rewarded that trust. 

The second-year receiver hauled in four catches in the fourth quarter, including a physical 16-yard touchdown grab over a defender that helped spark a Cardinals rally. Arizona tied the game late before ultimately falling 23-20 on Jason Myers' 52-yard field goal as time expired.

"First half, he dropped a ball. There's nothing -- I've seen Marv catch that ball a hundred times," Murray said after the game. "I told y'all throughout the week I wasn't worried about it. Continued to go to him, obviously he came up clutch in the stretch. That's part of football. I got the utmost confidence in Marv. I will continue to have confidence in Marv."

Harrison finished with six receptions for 68 yards and the touchdown on 10 targets, salvaging what had been a rough evening. For a player who admitted last week that he felt he was hurting the Cardinals by not playing up to his own expectations, Thursday offered a reminder of his potential impact when he settles in.

"I just think Marv expects so much from himself," Murray said. "Even that singular play is just not to his standard obviously as an individual. He drops the ball, it's an interception, right? And I'm sure that's lingering in his mind or whatever it is. But I love the way that he fought back and continued to play hard and continued to make plays. Obviously, he's probably going to go home thinking about that shit."

Arizona has now dropped back-to-back NFC West games on last-second kicks, falling to 2-2 on the season. The offense has been inconsistent, but Murray made clear that Harrison remains central to the Cardinals' plans.

"He needs me, I need him," Murray said. "This is a team sport, four-quarter game. I understand, he's not coming out of the game. I don't want him to come out of the game. So, we got to get this going. That's really just what it is. Conversations on the sideline keeping his confidence up."

For Harrison, the night may have started with mistakes, but it ended with proof he can still be a difference-maker for Arizona.