Kyler Murray found Marvin Harrison early, then he found him often. The Cardinals’ rookie wide receiver had four receptions for 130 yards and the first two touchdowns of his NFL career as Arizona crushed the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, 41-10.
Murray hit 17 of 21 attempts (81.0 percent) for 266 yards and three touchdowns, including a gorgeous 60-yard touchdown to Harrison, to register the highest-possible passer rating, 158.3. He also posted 59 rushing yards to make NFL history.
The quarterback became just the second player in NFL annals to reach 250 passing yards and 50 rushing yards while compiling a 158.3 passer rating, joining Ken Anderson on Nov. 3, 1974, per Elias Sports Bureau and the NFL. Murray’s head coach Jonathan Gannon wasn’t surprised.
“He was lights out today,” said Gannon, whose team exploded for 489 total yards of offense, going 7-for-11 on third downs and 3-for-4 in the red zone. “He’s a premium player for a reason.”
Each of Murray’s four incompletions targeted Harrison, and the rookie said he and his quarterback would improve in time for next week’s showdown against the Lions at State Farm Stadium.
“We’ve got to get that fixed,” Harrison said. “We’ll continue to build our chemistry.”
Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck forced a fumble and collected a career-high three sacks, helping to keep Murray and Harrison on the field. And when Murray wasn’t finding receivers, running back James Conner was piling up 122 rushing yards.
It was the second-largest defeat of McVay’s career, surpassed only by a 45-6 loss at Baltimore in 2019. The Cardinals had not defeated Los Angeles in Arizona since 2014.