Marvin Harrison Jr.’s NFL debut was a letdown, but Cardinals say the production is coming

AP Sports Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr. had grandiose plans for his first professional football game, one he hoped would be filled with amazing catches, touchdowns and a victory for the Arizona Cardinals.

But as many players have found out over the decades, the NFL is rarely a fairy tale.

Harrison’s pro debut turned out to be a snoozer. The No. 4 overall pick out of Ohio State had just one catch for 4 yards and was targeted only three times. To make it worse, the Buffalo Bills rallied for a 34-28 win over the Cardinals.

“Obviously, it wasn’t great,” Harrison said. “It definitely wasn’t what I expected or what I wanted to happen, what the team wanted to happen.”

The Bills had a lot to do with Harrison’s quiet debut, paying much more attention to him on defense than a normal rookie receiver. He was double-teamed for a majority of the game, giving quarterback Kyler Murray little choice but to look for other options.

Murray said he wasn’t worried about Harrison’s lack of catches.

“Nothing changes,” Murray said. “We’ve got the utmost confidence in what we’re capable of doing. If you went back and watched the game, I think they did a good job of making sure he wasn’t going to be single covered for the majority of the game.

“But I’ll never lose confidence in Marv.”

Second-year coach Jonathan Gannon had a similar response: “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Marvin will be fine. He’ll get back at it and go to work, but no one’s going to put more expectation and pressure and or him wanting to do well than himself. He’ll be perfectly fine.”

Harrison’s lack of production last Sunday called into question Gannon’s decision to sit the rookie for the majority of the preseason. The receiver played one series in the first exhibition game against the Saints, but otherwise had a seat on the bench next to Murray, who didn’t play at all in the three preseason contests.

Harrison said NFL game action was much more intense than anything he experienced during camp.

“It’s totally different,” Harrison said. “You do a lot of things in shirts and shorts, then you go to practice and you’ve got pads on, you’ve got joint practices with the Colts, but there’s nothing like live action.”

Still, he understood Gannon’s decision to keep several starters out of the preseason games.

“We all feel really healthy, and that’s the most important thing,” Harrison said.

Now the Cardinals are preparing for the Los Angeles Rams, who have given the franchise plenty of trouble over the past seven years. Arizona has lost 13 of 15 against the division rival going back to 2017, including a playoff game.

Harrison hopes his presence will help begin to reverse that trend. The rookie didn’t blame anyone for his rough first game and said he knows from his experience at Ohio State that catches can be made when the opposing defense is trying to take him away.

“I’ve got to get open and catch the ball,” Harrison said. “That’s my job as a receiver. That’s my job description.”

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