There are certain things in life that are just a certainty.
Marrying for love will always trump marrying for money. Change will always exist. Mankind will continue to seek the meaning of life. The love of a mother never wavers. No such thing as being too kind to others. And that last Oreo will get eaten.
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One thing was certain heading into the Arizona Cardinals’ contest against the Cincinnati Bengals: TE Trey McBride was going to break the NFL record for
“the most receptions by a tight end in a single season.”
The record was 116 catches set by former Cardinal Zack Ertz in 2018 while he was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. The fact that McBride had two games remaining on the schedule needing an even dozen catches seemed not be an issue for McBride. Going into the Bengals game, he had 109 receptions.
The Cardinals lost 37-14 in a game in which they looked lackluster and played like crap. The team was down 30-7 early in the third quarter and did not get any better. The entire offense tallied 254 total yards as the running game had a mere 42 yards among three ballcarriers.
But McBride had his usual good game despite the losing effort. He finished with 13 targets, 10 catches for 76 yards, a 7.6 yards per reception average, and scored a single touchdown.
The completion that tied the record was just a four-yard out pattern with just over five minutes left in the game. After an incompletion, Brissett went right back to McBride and converted a five-yard completion on a second-and-10 with 4:42 left to play.
McBride’s reception log against Cincinnati:
Q2: 14:52 – 15-yards
Q2: 0:41 – 3-yards
Q3: 7:23 – 1-yard
Q3: 0:46 – 12-yards
Q4: 14:05 – 9-yards
Q4: 12:14 – 4-yards
Q4: 5:09 – 4-yards
Q4: 4:42 – 5-yards
Q4: 2:29 – 5-yards
Q4: 1:50 – 18-yards TD
Before kickoff, McBride was ranked #1 in receptions in the league, #2 in targets, #3 in touchdowns, #4 in first down conversions, #6 in total yards gained, and #25 in pass completions of 20+ yards.
Arizona was down 37-7 with 6:20 left in the game. Cincinnati punted, which pinned the Cardinals down on their own eight-yard line. A fourth-and-three with 2:54 remaining netted 15-yards to WR Michael Wilson and a first down at the Bengals’ 25-yard line.
On first down, QB Jacoby Brissett hit McBride for five yards to the 20 with 2:29 left in the contest. Brissett was then sacked, followed by a four-yard run by RB Emari Demercado on a third-and-seven at the two-minute warning.
After the official timeout, on the very first play, McBride lined up in the slot to the left. Brissett had to fend off the pass rush of DE Cedric Johnson, stepped up, and then found McBride in the end zone, who was being smothered by S Tycen Anderson.
This marks the third NFL record that McBride has set this season. Last week in the Cardinals’ 40-20 loss to the Houston Texans, McBride set two records: 1) “Most consecutive games by a tight end with five or more catches,” and 2) “First tight end in NFL history to have 100 catches or more in back-to-back seasons.”
With the first record, McBride now had 16 (now 17) consecutive games, which broke the record of 15 held by Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018. With the second record, he caught 111 passes last season and after the Texans game had 105 receptions.
Yes, the Cardinals’ late touchdown to McBride was otherwise meaningless after being taken to the woodshed in the 37-14 loss to the Bengals.
But silver linings do appear on the gloomiest days.
