Arizona Cardinals fans were a bit confused why highly-touted No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. only had one reception for four yards in his NFL debut, as the Cardinals fell 34-28 to the Buffalo Bills.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Harrison, who only played three snaps in the preseason (no stats) because the Cardinals elected to rest their starters, was targeted just three times in Week 1 after his historic career at Ohio State. Harrison was the 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner as the outstanding receiver in college football after reeling in 67 passes for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns with the Buckeyes, one season after catching 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns.
With under nine minutes to go in the second quarter against Buffalo, Harrison dropped his first on-target pass during the Cardinals’ third offensive drive, but Murray went right back to him on a four-yard stop route the very next play for his first reception.
.@MarvHarrisonJr's first NFL reception!!! ???? pic.twitter.com/DGZMGLhK9x
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 8, 2024
The play fans are most upset about is when the Cardinals had the ball down six with 1:10 to go and Harrison was wide open behind the defense, but Kyler Murray instead found Greg Dortch for seven yards. Later in the drive, Murray would throw a jump ball to Dortch down the field on a fourth-and-seven with 32 seconds remaining, but it was knocked away to give the Bills the win.
Murray said he did not see Harrison on this play
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) September 8, 2024
this is shameless marvin harrison jr treatment, kyler murray you should be ashamed pic.twitter.com/2QZ8ZCk4Vw
— brett (@brettbhill) September 8, 2024
Dortch was Arizona’s leading receiver with six catches for 47 yards, as Murray only had 162 passing yards on the night, which is his second-lowest total since the start of the 2022 season (excluding the game where he tore his ACL). Murray threw for a mere 31 yards in the second half.
Definitely gotta get this sorted out pic.twitter.com/qJbWllz9qM
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) September 8, 2024
Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon explained Harrison’s limited targets by saying the Bills were “clouding him.”
(Via Arizona Sports’ Tyler Drake)
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon while talking with @PaulCalvisi on the limited targets Marvin Harrison Jr. had vs. the Bills:
"They were clouding him. … Credit to Buffalo there."
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 8, 2024
Here were some of the reactions to Harrison’s low usage:
Using your top 5 pick as decoy so you can feed Greg dortch great offense!
— lami⭐️ (@lamibackup) September 8, 2024
Remind your qb that he has MHJ out there lol pic.twitter.com/UHt3cbK5fW
— Its Ya Boy FlankenBerry (@FlankenBerry) September 8, 2024
Marvin Harrison Jr Debut Highlights pic.twitter.com/1A4UD3TcVi
— tom (@tomrahme9) September 8, 2024
Marvin Harrison Jr in his debut pic.twitter.com/ocsuRyCQFu
— Ben 〽️ (@Bennyboi0000) September 8, 2024
What were your biggest takeways from the Cardinals loss to the Bills?
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
