The Arizona Cardinals are 1-1, and that alone is enough to keep the panic button locked away for now. A Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks did not trigger some sweeping reset, especially with a first-year rookie head coach still sorting through what this team is and where it’s headed.
Even so, the Cardinals did leave State Farm Stadium with a 31-7 loss, and that kind of result tends to force a few uncomfortable conversations. The context matters - Arizona was tied 7-7 with Seattle coming out of halftime, and a Seahawks fumble on the kickoff return nearly swung things the other way - but the NFL still runs on the same hard truth every week: the scoreboard decides the mood.
One of the biggest issues right now is Marvin Harrison. Through two games, the No. 4 overall pick has only four targets and one catch. That is a stunningly quiet start for a player the Cardinals spent all offseason talking up as a centerpiece of the offense.
There have already been moments when Jacoby Brissett simply isn’t looking his way, even when Harrison has been open. The ball has gone elsewhere, and Harrison has been reduced to little more than a decoy so far.
“I wouldn't look into it too (much),” Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said postgame. “Obviously, (TE) Trey (McBride) had some, but I wouldn't look into too much of anything right now because we didn't throw the ball for crap anyways. Schematically it wasn't good.”
LaFleur also downplayed any alarm about Harrison’s role.
“Not concerned, no. I'm concerned with obviously our execution on offense today, but I think it's all stuff that we know we can do better. We know we can coach it better and we have a better standard than that,” LaFleur added.
Of course, the reality is that one football can only go to one player at a time, and Trey McBride and Michael Wilson are both ahead of Harrison in the receiving pecking order right now. That doesn’t mean Harrison needs to post huge numbers every Sunday, but it does mean Arizona has to get clearer about how it plans to use him.
The same kind of question is starting to hang over the backfield. The Cardinals have not leaned into their third overall pick the way plenty of people expected, and Tyler Allgeier currently leads Arizona’s backfield in touches by a narrow 26-25 edge over Love.
LaFleur has been consistent about not wanting a bellcow approach, saying he wants to keep everyone healthy. Allgeier has done his part as a complementary back in previous stops and has started his time in Arizona in that same mold.
Still, patience can wear thin fast when a player arrives with the kind of reputation Love brought with him. The buzz around the building this offseason centered on his ability to change a game with one play, and the preseason offered only a small glimpse of that before he was heavily monitored.
No one is asking for 30 touches a game. But Arizona did make Love the highest-paid running back ever in terms of guaranteed money, and he is fresh out of college with plenty of NFL tread left on the tires. That makes the current usage hard to ignore.
In Other News...
Cardinals Offense Is Raising A Frustrating Question Fans Already Feel
Two games into the season, the offense has left the kind of uneasy feeling that usually only comes when a rosters talent level and its production are miles apart. The yardage has been light, the numbers around Jeremiyah Love, Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride have been underwhelming, and the broader concern is less about one bad day than about a unit that has not looked nearly as dangerous as it should.
For Cardinals fans, the frustration comes from how familiar this can feel when the attack stalls early and the team starts sounding like it is revisiting some of the franchises lowest offensive stretches. The bigger question is no longer whether the talent is there. It is whether this group is being used in a way that actually lets that talent show up on Sundays. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Leave Arizona With An Injury Scare That Changed Fast
The Seahawks left Arizona with a couple of late-week health questions hanging over their offense, but one of the more worrying ones appears to have settled down quickly. Mike Macdonald said Jadarian Prices injury is to the shoulder, not the chest, and it does not seem serious, easing some of the concern after the scare in Arizona.
There is still a bigger quarterback angle to watch as the week moves on. Seattle said Sam Darnold has a chance to play after dealing with a soft-tissue glute injury, which would give the team another option after Drew Lock started the previous game and threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns. [Read more 🡒]
Marvin Harrison Jr. Is Giving Cardinals Fans A Real Reason To Worry
Marvin Harrison Jr.s start to the 2026 season has only sharpened the scrutiny that comes with being the Arizona Cardinals 2024 first-round pick. He opened with one catch for 33 yards, then was held without a reception in the next game, a rough stretch for a player expected to become a centerpiece of the offense.
Head coach Mike LaFleur has said Harrison was getting to the right spots, which at least suggests the issue is not simply effort or alignment. Still, the Cardinals have not found a consistent way to connect with him, and with Harrison under contract through 2027 on a fully guaranteed rookie deal, this remains a problem they cannot ignore for long. [Read more 🡒]