Marvin Harrison Jr. ends nightmare start with late TD for Cardinals on TNF

Marvin Harrison Jr. finally ended a nightmare start to the Arizona Cardinals' season by delivering a fourth-quarter touchdown on Thursday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks. The 23-year-old wide receiver, son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, rose over cornerback Devon Witherspoon to haul in a pass in the end zone with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter. Rather than celebrate with teammates, Harrison Jr. knelt briefly, allowing the emotion of the moment to wash over him as he finally connected on a high-leverage play that had eluded him through the season’s first three games. The moment capped a performance that had started with a rough burst: in the opening moments of the game he dropped a wide-open target that helped set up an interception by Ernest Jones IV, a start the 23-year-old later described as painful and frustrating.

Arizona had entered the game seeking a spark after a string of underwhelming performances, including a Sunday where Harrison Jr. dropped a wide-open catch against the San Francisco 49ers and watched his team come up short in a 16-15 loss. The early miscue against Seattle loomed large, but the late connection offered a glimpse of the talent that brought him to the league with such high expectations. By the time Harrison Jr. found the end zone, Seattle had already begun to seize momentum and the Cardinals appeared to be closing in on what could have been a different outcome.

Herbstreit had noted at halftime that Harrison Jr. looked like a player with immense skill but lacking confidence, a mental block that prevented him from playing up to his ability. “I think you see a guy who's uberly talented, just not playing with confidence. It's like his mind is paralyzing his ability to be the receiver he can be,” the analyst said, reflecting the sentiment around the league about the young receiver’s form in the season’s first three games. The chatter around his start wasn’t just about one drop but a pattern that had followers wondering whether the Penn State product could reset and regain elite form.

After the game, Harrison Jr. confronted the emotional reality of the moment. “It's a lot of emotion. Just disappointed, really. I know what I put into the game, so it doesn't feel the best. Everybody's got a job to do. I'm not doing my job at a high enough level at the moment. I know what I'm capable of. To go out there and not play anywhere near the best of my abilities, it's frustrating, it hurts the team. And I gotta get better,” he said in the locker room, signaling his intent to build on the late score rather than dwell on the missteps that had characterized his season so far.

The late TD did not swing the result in Arizona’s favor. Seattle kicked a field goal as time expired to prevail 23-20, leaving the Cardinals at 2-2 on the season while Seattle moved to 3-1. The loss was another heartbreak for a club still trying to find stability at the receiver position, even as Harrison Jr. showed flashes that his best form is still ahead of him. The talent that has drawn comparisons to his father remains evident in the ways he can win with a single, precision catch, even if the consistency has yet to arrive over a full game.

The game offered a rare, clear signal that Harrison Jr.’s playmaking still exists under pressure. It also underscored the challenge coaches face in translating that talent into a steady, game-long impact. After the high of the late TD, Arizona observers will be watching closely to confirm whether the moment marks a genuine turnaround or a singular, emotional highlight from a rough stretch. For Harrison Jr., the next steps will be critical: sustaining the level of play he showed on that final-quarter sequence and erasing the memory of the key drops that opened the door for opponents this season.