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    • Marvin Harrison Jr. Puts Concerns to One After Dominant Performance Against Rams
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    Marvin Harrison Jr. Puts Concerns to One After Dominant Performance Against Rams

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    Marvin Harrison Jr. was sitting quietly at his locker on Thursday afternoon when a reporter approached him. The reporter wanted to know what Harrison could explain for his top speed in the Cardinals’ season opener, when he was clocked at just 16.7 mph. All week, the number — unusually slow for a wide receiver — had been the subject of discussion on social media and sports talk radio. It was impossible to miss fans and analysts debating what it meant for Harrison’s career.

    Unless you’re Harrison. Posed with the prompt, he responded with only a look of confusion. That number, so ubiquitous everywhere else in the football world, hadn’t even entered his conscience.

    “All I know,” Harrison said, “is that I’m fast.”

    And so he was on Sunday. In an astonishing 41-10 victory over the Rams, Harrison hit 20.0 mph — the fastest speed of any ball carrier in the game. More importantly, he had four receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns by the end of the first quarter. He did nothing the rest of the way — because he didn’t have to. The Cardinals’ victory was comfortably secured, turning the narrative of their early season.

    And that was possible thanks to moments like Thursday, when Harrison sat at his locker, blissfully unaware of the spinning stories. He changed nothing Sunday. He first stepped onto the field at 11:12 a.m., the exact same time he did last week in Buffalo. He ran a series of warmup sprints, then juggled three tennis balls on the sideline. He tossed a football to wide receivers coach Drew Terrell, proceeded to play catch with backup quarterback Clayton Tune, then continued with his route tree, following in the footsteps of Michael Wilson, just as he did a week ago.

    “You can’t just change something after one week,” Harrison said. “The process is probably the most critical and important factor for everything.”

    It certainly worked Sunday. Harrison’s first catch was a full, raw demonstration of why he was drafted fourth overall. The Cardinals lined up in a three-tight-end set. It’s a look designed to win short yards unless the safety is out of position, leaving Harrison open on a seam route. That’s exactly what happened here, with the Rams’ Kam Curl playing too shallow.

    Murray saw that and threw a deep ball to Harrison in the end zone.

    “Honestly, I didn’t think it was a perfect ball,” Murray said, even though it was the least likely touchdown completion of the young season, according to Next Gen Stats.

    That’s Harrison’s power. At full speed, he looked over his shoulder, pinned the ball to his helmet and dragged both feet into the lane. Three minutes and 57 seconds into his second NFL game, his peak had arrived.

    “The catch radius is unbelievable,” Murray said. “… That’s the luxury you have when you have a guy like that.”

    If Harrison’s first catch was a testament to his athleticism, the rest of the game was a demonstration of his mental acumen.

    On the next offensive snap after Harrison’s touchdown, coordinator Drew Petzing called for a play-action pass with Harrison running a 10- to 12-yard crossing route. But before the play, Harrison had found another hole in the Rams’ coverage.

    “I felt like nobody was going to get deep,” Harrison said, referring to the right side of the field where his route would take him.

    So as soon as Murray rolled out of the pocket, Harrison turned down the field, broke off his route. Murray hit him in stride and Harrison sprinted to the end zone.

    “I think we see things the same way,” Murray said.

    That wasn’t always the case in Harrison’s debut. On his first target in Buffalo, he and Murray weren’t on the same page on a back-shoulder throw. In the days that followed, they both cited their lack of reps together as the reason for the miscommunication.

    So, another week later, they tried the same thing. This time, Murray was in his own end zone, relying on his receiver. And this time, it worked perfectly. Harrison turned his body at just the right time, creating just enough space to secure the reception.

    “The more we play and practice together, the better we get,” Murray said.

    Harrison’s fourth and final reception saw him and Murray at their best. In the pocket, Murray spun away from a free rusher to avoid a sack and roll left. Downfield, Harrison began to break back toward the ball, as receivers learn in scramble drills.

    But as he did so, he knew safety Kamren Kinchens would bite. So with a jab step toward the line of scrimmage, Harrison turned and sprinted the other way down the sideline. By the time Kinchens recovered, Harrison had eight yards out. Murray found him for a 32-yard gain to set up the Cardinals’ third touchdown in as many drives.

    As it turned out, that was one more than the Cardinals needed. A perfect play to end a perfect day.

    Unless you’re Harrison.

    As the Cardinals’ 31-point victory became official with the starters long removed, Harrison stood on the sideline, poring over a stat sheet. He saw something that still bothered him nearly an hour later: All four of Murray’s incompletions had been thrown his way.

    “I’m not too happy about that,” Harrison said. “We definitely need to get that fixed.”

    This, it should be noted, was Harrison’s first reaction when asked to assess his performance in a game that he finished with 130 yards, two touchdowns and a booming arrival in the NFL.

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