Cardinals Miss Wide Open Game-Winning TD

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. arrived to the desert with an awful lot of hype, but such is life for the draft's No. 4 overall pick.

After the dust has settled in his first game, the Cardinals' star rookie still has plenty of work to do.

Harrison registered just one reception for four yards on three targets in Arizona's 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.

"They were clouding him. ... Credit to Buffalo there," said Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon following the loss (h/t Arizona Sports' Tyler Drake).

"We definitely had opportunities to win the game. There's no doubt about that. ... We gotta hold our heads high and see the plays we didn't make that we gotta make to win the game."

CBS' broadcast also highlighted Buffalo's defense having a safety over top of Harrison throughout the game.

Harrison was targeted early by Murray on what appeared to be a back-shoulder opportunity, though Harrison kept running and the ball fell to the sideline.

Later in the game, Harrison found himself open but dropped a pass with nobody around him in the middle of the field.

Marvin Harrison Jr’s first pass that hits his hands, is a drop… first game jitters, I’m
not worried pic.twitter.com/D9JsAsuLXH
— Justin Bowers  Mythic AZ (@ImMythicAZ) September 8, 2024

However, Harrison did record his first NFL reception just a few moments later:

.@MarvHarrisonJr's first NFL reception!!! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DGZMGLhK9x
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 8, 2024

Then, Harrison went quiet for majority of the game, though he was screaming down the field wide open when the Cardinals were down by a touchdown in the final moments of action - but Murray wasn't looking his way and ultimately missed him.

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

Arizona eventually turned the ball over on downs, and the upset opportunity was missed.

Out of eight pass catchers for Arizona today, Harrison ranked last statistically, as all three running backs (James Conner, Trey Benson, Emari Demercado) had more receiving yards than the Ohio State stand-out.

It's disappointing that Harrison didn't get more looks, and that will be a major topic of discussion as the Cardinals gear for Week 2's home meeting against the Los Angeles Rams.

Look for Harrison to bounce back in a major way.

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