When Marvin Harrison Jr. was coming off the field after his bobble on what should have been a first-down catch instead bounced into the arms of a Seahawks defender for an interception, his quarterback found him.
Kyler Murray tried to provide encouragement with a high five while his receiver was feeling the weight of a play he knew he should've made.
"In that moment, second quarter, it doesn't really matter," Murray said. "'We're in this together. I got your back. We're going to keep going.'"
Harrison addressed his roller coaster of a game for the first time on Wednesday after practice, acknowledging the first half "couldn't go worse" for him. But by the time the game was over, Harrison had six catches for 66 yards and a spectacular touchdown all while being a key reason the Cardinals nearly came back in a game in which they looked done.
When Harrison mossed Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon for his 18-yard touchdown, he knelt in the back of the end zone, head down, the sigh of relief palpable within the din of the cheering State Farm Stadium crowd.
"I was thanking God, really," Harrison said. "I always thank him but that one meant a little more to me."
With the touchdown, "it was good to see one go through the hoop," Harrison acknowledged.
Harrison ended up with a season-high 10 targets, and Murray reiterated on Wednesday that his confidence never wavered in his WR1.
Harrison said he doesn't dwell on past games. Once the Seattle game was over, it was about flipping over to the Titans. But he also doesn't necessarily take much from his hot finish either; the good plays, he said, he looks at as if he is just supposed to make those catches.
On a few occasions, Harrison added, had he made plays this season, "it could be a totally different season." Those can be counted on one hand, he said, but still, missed opportunities that are "just football."
And just as Murray provided his gesture at Harrison's lowest moment on Thursday night, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing did the same.
"My message to him, right after the play, was 'I'm not treating you different, I'm not calling it different,'" Petzing said. "He's as good of a player as there is in this league in my mind. We're going to need him to make big plays. And I said that to him. I looked him right in the eyes and said 'We're going to be good. You're going to be good, and we're going to need you to get back into this game.'"
Harrison not only made the TD grab, but his 18-yard back-shoulder catch, again beating Witherspoon, with 1:16 left in the game set up Emari Demercado's game-tying touchdown.
By then, the issues of the first half had been washed away in the comeback.
"It does not surprise me," said Cardinals tackle and Harrison college teammate Paris Johnson Jr. "People say it was him starting to bounce back, but that's just the real Marv. I think certain plays, we'll look back and they will be a blip in the radar. He's a killer and he works and he's consistent and he'll continue to show that."
With the injuries at running back and the potential need to lean on the passing game more, Harrison's importance will remain as large as anyone on the roster. He, like everyone on the team, will have to overcome mistakes again at some point.
"Everybody on that team and in that locker room has been in that situation," Murray said. "Where you just feel like (expletive), after a play you feel like you let everybody down, or you missed a play you feel you should've made.
"You're in front of thousands of people, everyone is watching on TV, primetime. We've all been there. There is nothing anyone can actually do. The pats on the back almost make you more frustrated."
Harrison smiled when Murray's belief was relayed to him.
"I see both sides of it," Harrison said. "You don't want anyone feeling sorry for you that they keep coming up to you. But sometimes it is nice to be supported by your teammates.
"They see the work I put in throughout the week, they see the practices, they know what I am capable of. Means a lot to have their support and that they trust me."
