Over the past six games, Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride has made quite the name for himself. So much that, when the Redbirds released Zach Ertz, most of us shrugged our shoulders and said, “Good luck!”
While running back James Conner got and deserved much of the attention today with his epic performance that fueled the running game in today’s win, McBride deserves just as much credit for his ability to routinely provide a reliable target for quarterback Kyler Murray. The second-year tight end had eight catches today for 89 yards and a touchdown, good for 11.1 yards per reception.
It’s also worth mentioning that McBride had those eight catches on nine targets, and the only target he didn’t catch was initially ruled a touchdown before the officials overturned the play. Still, it brings McBride’s reception total to 56 this season for 613 yards and two touchdowns, and he still has four more games to add to that total.
3 major takeaways in Arizona Cardinals win over Steelers
1 - Josh Woods steps up big
It’s about time to owe Josh Woods an apology, and if he keeps producing the way he did in Sunday’s win, he’s definitely getting one. Every play, it seemed like Woods found himself around it in some capacity. He ended up finishing the game with 11 combined tackles (five solo), and a tackle for loss.
When Kyzir White went down two weeks ago, someone in the linebacking unit needed to step up, and it looks like Woods is taking the mantle early on. He has four more games to show he can be consistent, and perhaps we will see the 27-year-old take an even bigger step in the desert next season should he play well enough to warrant a second contract.
In a worst-case scenario, we know Woods is one of the league’s better special teams players, so he can definitely step up in more ways than one even if he doesn’t become a full-time starter. Still though, Woods increased his stock today, and that should serve as a major confidence booster.
2 - What major weaknesses?
The Arizona Cardinals came into this game with the league’s worst defense in third-down conversions allowed at 47.0 percent. Today, it was a different story, as the Steelers converted just four of 11, or 36.3 percent of them. That number would have been lower, but the Cards dropped back to prevent defense late, and essentially let the Pittsburgh Steelers drive down the field for a touchdown.
But that wasn’t the only glaring weakness this season that didn’t plague the Cardinals today. This is a team that had a rough time with penalties, but they had just six for 51 yards. Not ideal, but fewer than what we’ve seen in the past. Meanwhile, they drew the Steelers into committing nine for 77 yards.
The Cards also didn’t turn the ball over, despite the fact they had a few close calls. However, they never seemed to panic when they put the ball on the ground, and they jumped back on it quickly.
3 - Winning under less-than-ideal conditions
For a team used to playing in a controlled climate, the weather did the Arizona Cardinals no favors today, or so we thought that would have been the case. Not only were they forced to deal with pouring rain at times, but two weather delays, one at halftime and another in the third quarter, thanks to lightning in the area, could have sapped momentum.
One delay came just after the Cards scored a touchdown in the third quarter, but neither the weather nor the pair of delays fazed them. Somehow, this team played the game as though cold and rain were a normal part of the forecast, and it implied that no less-than-ideal situation was too much for this football team.
Now that the Cardinals know they can withstand some adversity in poor weather conditions, it’s something that may come into use long-term. That’s assuming many of the core players stick around long enough for January football if they’re forced to travel and face up north a few years from today, or maybe sooner?
(Statistics provided by ESPN.com and Pro-Football-Reference)