Following a quiet debut to his NFL career in Week 1, rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. scored touchdowns on the Arizona Cardinals‘ first two possessions in their Week 2 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
After the Rams failed to convert a 4th-and-2 on their opening possession, the Cardinals took over and finished off a six-play, 60-yard drive with a 23-yard pass from Kyler Murray to Harrison on a post pattern over Tre’Davious White.
The Rams went three-and-out and punted on their next series. Greg Dortch returned the ball 17 yards to the Los Angeles 40-yard line. And Arizona only needed one play after that to take a 14–0, thanks to Murray connecting with Harrison again.
This time, it was a 60-yard score with Harrison getting past the Rams’ secondary on a deep crossing route, freed up by a run fake to James Conner and Murray rolling out to the right.
Harrison mixed in a 15-yard reception and 32-yard catch to finish the first quarter with four receptions (on five targets) for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s a considerable improvement over Harrison’s Week 1 performance, in which he caught one pass for four yards in a 34–28 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The rookie was targeted only three times in that game.
As Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice said prior to Week 2’s action, the Bills played a “cloud” strategy against Harrison with defenders low and high against him. The Rams employed a different approach which obviously hasn’t worked so far.
As a result, the rookie wideout has broken out for the sort of impact expected when Arizona selected him No. 4 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
