In the Arizona Cardinals’ 35-31 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, rookie receiver Michael Wilson had both a good and a bad game.
It had been a struggle for him over the last month and things started poorly for him in Philly, but he recovered and made big plays in the second half.
In the first quarter, Kyler Murray’s interception that was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Sydney Brown because of a miscommunication.
Before the play, Murray looked right at Wilson and gave him a signal about a change that was made. Wilson was slow off the line of scrimmage and cut his route toward the middle of the field. Even before Wilson made his cut inside, Murray already had released his pass to the front corner of the end zone, expecting Wilson to go there.
The only player there was Brown.
After that, Wilson was seen giving a poor effort on a block on a run play, which is uncharacteristic of him. One thing he has been praised for all year is his willingness and ability to block in the run game.
However, Murray’s trust in Wilson didn’t waver.
He went on to catch four passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. A catch that didn’t go on the stat sheet was a two-point conversion from Murray that tied the game at 21. His touchdown reception tied the score at 28.
He had not caught a pass since Week 10.
Murray said after the game that Wilson’s receptions, especially to score, were “a booster for him.”
“He was really excited about it on the sideline after he scored,” Murray said, “just to trust him and show him the cut, you know, show him that I got him no matter what.”
With one game remaining this season, Wilson can wrap up his rookie season with a strong performance against the Seattle Seahawks.
He has 32 receptions for 470 yards and three touchdowns. Reaching 500 yards should happen, which would be a decent start to a career.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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