For the first time in a long time, Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride looked human last week against the Atlanta Falcons.
Posting an uncharacteristic stat line of four catches for just 27 yards, McBride was largely a nonfactor for the first time since last year’s overtime loss to Carolina in Week 16 — 18 games ago.
And despite eight targets coming his way, he failed to reel in five receptions in a game for the first time since that same OT loss to the Panthers, ending his NFL-leading streak of such contests for a tight end at 16.
McBride isn’t just brushing off the anomaly, though. He’s using it as added fuel knowing there’s only two games left to play before the offseason takes hold and his already impressive year comes to a close.
Given the Pro Bowl tear he’s been on — 109 catches for 1,098 yards and 10 scores — that’s bad news for whoever is in the way of “Trey McPlay” moving forward.
Trey McBride said last game’s performance was eating at him to start the week of prep for the Bengals and is focused on “changing the narrative” in Cincinnati.
Given the totality of his season plus a Bengals D that is getting absolutely wrecked by TEs, Sunday is shaping up to be… pic.twitter.com/FxNTGJ73PN
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) December 26, 2025
“I was mad at myself more than anything. It was nothing that they did or Jacoby did. It was nothing like that,” McBride said Wednesday. “I was mad at myself for a few plays that I left out there. That end-zone play in particular, I feel like I’ve caught much harder balls than that. Really mad at myself for not catching that.
“Then they come back to me the next play and I get broken up with the safety. That’s another play I’ve made a million times, too. … I just got to be better. It’s been eating at me all week and I’m excited to have an opportunity this week to change the narrative.”
“Opportunity” might be putting it lightly given who the Cardinals are up against in the Cincinnati Bengals.
Trey McBride presents massive mismatch for Bengals
Heading into this week’s slate of games, the Bengals defense is giving up the most points (30.5 per game) and the fourth most passing yards (246.8).
But pull back the curtain a little more and you’ll discover a defense getting absolutely wrecked by opposing tight ends in 2025.
It’s not particularly close, either.
Pacing the NFL in catches (105), yards (1,362) and touchdowns (15) given up to the position, it’s clear where at least one of the major leaks in the Bengals’ defensive ship is at. And that’s up against pass catchers well below McBride in the play-making category.
So even with the one-game downturn in production, McBride and quarterback Jacoby Brissett should be licking their chops at what they can achieve this week in Cincinnati. The same feeling goes for the fantasy football managers looking to win their championship tilts behind the hands of McBride.
“He does so many good things for us. … They took away some of the stuff in the pass game, but (he was) in the run game, which helped propel our run game a lot,” Brissett said of McBride. “He made a lot of plays for us, and he’s just one of those players that I always say his will to win is going to supersede a lot of the things that defenses try to do against him.”
As for the milestone watch, McBride can add even more to his already impressive NFL resume as the season winds down:
– With one more reception, McBride would surpass legend Larry Fitzgerald (330) for the second most catches by a Cardinal in his first four seasons with 331. He would also set a new NFL mark as the only tight end to post multiple seasons of at least 110 catches.
– Reeling in 13 catches would move him into the top spot for the franchise over Anquan Boldin (342).
– Eight more would move McBride past Zach Ertz (116) for the most receptions by a tight end in a single NFL season.
– Just snagging three balls on Sunday would set a new career mark for the tight end at 112 catches. That would also break his franchise single-season record of 111 set last year.
– Want one more? McBride needs just 107 yards the rest of the way to break the single-season franchise record for a tight end. He would move ahead of Hall of Famer Jackie Smith and his 1,205-yard mark set in 1967.
But it’s not just McBride who could be a thorn in Cincinnati’s side, either, with tight end Elijah Higgins presenting some big-play ability in his own right. He’s also coming off his best game as a pro in last week’s loss behind 97 yards on seven catches (eight targets).
And we all know how much Brissett loves getting his tight ends involved. Against a leaky Bengals defense, that should very much be the case.
Speaking of that Arizona run game the quarterback alluded to, that’s another area to lean on this week against a Bengals defense allowing the most rushing yards per game (156) and is tied for sixth in most touchdowns given up (18).
Sure, the Cardinals’ run game is far from what it once was in seasons prior. It’s currently posting the sixth fewest yards per game (97.5) and seventh fewest touchdowns (nine) in the league.
It did, however, turn in one of its best outings last week. Behind Michael Carter, who will serve as Arizona’s RB1 the rest of the way with Bam Knight on injured reserve, the Cardinals run game averaged 5.7 yards per carry on its way to 132 yards on 23 attempts.
“It’s a little bit of give and take,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday. “I thought we covered people up. I thought we got on the right people. I thought our downhill run game went well, and when a team plays you in light box to stop your tight ends and your receivers, you have to be able to run it.”
“I’d like to see a couple more explosives, but we hit a couple,” the head coach added. “There were a couple negative-yard runs, but that happens in the game. We had a bunch of scoring drives or chances for scoring drives. Make a couple more plays here or there, the game looks a little bit different. Same thing on defense, same thing on fourth down.”
Since Week 13’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona’s kept its yards per carry at 3.4 or higher.
It may not be the dominant force from recent seasons, but it has seen some improvement late in the season.
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