Leaning on the edge of a nearly empty locker room stall, Michael Wilson tilted his head back as he pondered the origin of his patience.
In the first quarter, Kyler Murray threw a touchdown pass to Wilson, but the celebration was cut short once a holding penalty was called against Trey McBride. Admittedly, Wilson was disappointed, the second time in his three-year career that a touchdown was negated due to penalty.
With under 10 seconds left in the first half, Murray and Wilson connected once more.
The patience paid off.
"It's the NFL and it's extremely hard to even get the opportunity to score," Wilson said. "When you play long enough, you're going to have touchdowns get called back. But I was happy to ultimately get an opportunity to get a second one. Or I guess first one in the game (that counted)."
Wilson's score was the first part of an excellent halftime sandwich by the Cardinals' offense. Out of the break, the Cardinals had a 71-yard touchdown drive to extend the lead to 27-3. (The Cardinals only had the ball twice more the rest of the half, which must be improved, coach Jonathan Gannon acknowledged.)
When asked if the back-to-back scoring drives were the best version of the offense thus far, quarterback Kyler Murray nodded. "Probably," he said. Center Hjalte Froholdt described it as a massive swing before the Panthers mounted a comeback.
"Doing that double dip is extremely valuable," Froholdt said while giving credit to Greg Dortch who set up Wilson's touchdown with a 29-yard punt return. "I'm optimistic now. We've got so much talent on our team. I'm so excited. Just stoked to be able to go out there another week and ball with the boys."
It's no secret that the passing offense runs through wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride. Beyond that is where Wilson finds himself. After the touchdown, Murray targeted Wilson one other time, although there was miscommunication as the ball sailed 20 yards over Wilson's head.
"The rest of us have a role and right now," Wilson said. "My role is to run as fast as I can, play as hard as I can, block and be good in the run game and then when the ball comes my way, find a way to come down and make tough catches and do as much as I can with my opportunities."
Wilson has two receptions for 16 yards. Granted, it's only been two games. When asked about spreading the ball around to targets like Wilson and Zay Jones, Gannon said their production had come when they weren't the primary receiver.
"I thought the quarterback did a really outstanding job of that (Sunday)," Gannon said. "The couple of catches that (tight end Elijah) Higgins had, I think two explosives, he's not the primary read there, and that's where the ball goes, and it's an explosive. That's good offense. That's good quarterback play."
Higgins had receptions of 18 and 27 yards.
Throughout his career, some of Wilson's best outings have come against the 49ers, who the Cardinals will face on Sunday. Last season, Wilson had five receptions for 78 yards against San Francisco. The year prior, Wilson had a two-touchdown performance in Santa Clara, recording 76 yards on seven receptions.
Heading into the season, Wilson expressed a desire to appear on the stat sheet more frequently. Putting up numbers like he has against the 49ers is what many would hope for from a No. 2 receiver. The competitor in Wilson wouldn't disagree. "I think every receiver wants 10 targets a game," he said with a smile.
Yet in a facility plastered with the phrase "Team Over You," it's a motto that Wilson has fully embodied since joining the Cardinals.
Patience. Always.
"There's a million guys that would love to switch positions with me," Wilson said. "The way I see it, I'm still a starting receiver in the NFL and if I'm playing 70 percent of the snaps, the likelihood of me getting the ball is going to be higher than if I was playing 30 percent of the snaps. It's finding ways to stay on the field and if you play long enough and keep playing at a high level and playing fast, the ball naturally will find your way."
INJURY UPDATE
There wasn't an update on the injuries to defensive lineman L.J. Collier and cornerbacks Max Melton, Garrett Williams, and Will Johnson. Collier, Melton, and Williams left the game with knee injuries. Johnson's injury was a groin and is a separate issue from when he was evaluated early in the fourth quarter. Gannon said their status would be announced "later in the week."
