During most of Thursday night’s game, the Arizona Cardinals struggled mightily on offense. But led by Marvin Harrison Jr., they came to life. And Harrison’s second-half explosion will be a springboard for him into stardom.

In a thrilling finish, Jason Myers made a 52-yard field goal as time expired. The Seahawks overcame Harrison and quarterback Kyler Murray’s late rally to earn a 23-20 win.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon praised his team’s comeback, according to ESPN.

“I appreciate the resiliency, that's there,” Gannon said. “No one has their head down. Everyone believes we can win. But we're not doing enough, all three phases, to win these games. That's very clear.”

Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. looks ready to shine

Harrison finished with six catches on 10 targets. He totaled 66 yards and a nice touchdown grab that gave the Cardinals a boost in their comeback attempt.

Earlier in the game, Harrison bobbled an easy catch on a slant pass. It turned into a drive-killing interception. But Harrison showed his true colors late in the game, and his team hasn’t lost confidence in him, according to apnews.com.

“I’m not worried about Marv at all,” Gannon said. “He’s going to be just fine. He’s resilient, just as this whole crew is.”

Murray, helped immensely by the late-game uptick from Harrison, finished with 27 completions in 41 attempts for 200 yards. He had two scores and two picks. One was clearly Harrison’s fault, while the other one could land in his lap as well. He stopped short on a route, although Murray’s still seemed to be way off target.

Still, Murray said he knows Harrison won’t brush aside the mistakes.

“Marvin is hard on himself, expects so much of himself,” Murray said. “He drops the ball, and I’m sure that’s lingering in his mind. But I love the way he fought back.

“I need him. He needs me, I need him. He’s not coming out of the game, and I don’t want him to. It’s just a conversation to keep his confidence up.”

Part of the reason Harrison needs to find his way is that the Cardinals need a true offensive leader. That should be Murray, but he has been sporadic. And the loss of veteran running back James Conner to a season-ending injury puts more on the plate of Harrison.

Could criticism shake Marvin Harrison Jr. loose?

During the broadcast of Thursday night’s game, analyst Kirk Herbstreit said Harrison doesn’t look like the same player who dominated in college, according to talksport.com.

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“He doesn’t play with the urgency that we saw him [at Ohio State],” Herbstreit said. “I think he’s still trying to find the confidence he had in college. He's playing timid. He needs to be aggressive.

“When you're the fourth pick overall last year, that comes with expectations. 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.”

Herbstreit seems to be on track, but there’s also a fear factor that seems to be holding Harrison back. Both of his miscues in Thursday’s game came on plays over the middle. It looks like Harrison may not have the fortitude to go over the middle in the NFL. If that’s true, it’s a career-level problem. Harrison will never be a superstar receiver without that level of toughness. It’s part of the job description.

Some people realize the importance of the finish

If Harrison ended the game the way it played out for three quarters, he would be getting roasted across the board. However, a strong finish does change things, according to a post on X by Jordan Schultz.

“I’ve gotta give a tremendous amount of credit and respect to Marvin Harrison Jr. He really hung in there, battled through a ton of adversity, and overcame it all to show why he’s a future star in this league. Marvin displayed true football character in every sense of the word — something we can all appreciate.”

The high-point touchdown catch, in particular, stood out, according to a post on X by Dalton Feely.

“You could almost see the relief in Marvin Harrison as he took a knee after winning this battle against the best Seattle has,” Herbstreit said.

There’s more good stuff to come for Harrison. He just needs to capitalize on the toughness he showed Thursday night.