On Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 25-23. The big story from this game was the performance of Kyler Murray in his first game back from a torn ACL. Murray went 19/32 for 249 yards.
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A lot of those yards went to Cardinals’ tight end Trey McBride. McBride had eight receptions for 131 yards. The biggest reception of the game was McBride’s eighth catch.
Trey McBride just became the first Cardinals TE to have 100 yards receiving in a game since 1989 🐏pic.twitter.com/knB2WL32Sc
— DNVR Rams (@DNVR_Rams) November 13, 2023
McBride was able to comeback to catch Murray’s under thrown pass. This catch set up the game winning field goal attempt for Arizona. It also was the catch that put McBride over 100 yards receiving for the game.
This was the first time a Cardinals’ tight end had more than 100 yards receiving in a game in 34 years. The last time it happened was on November 12, 1989. So, it was exactly 34 years apart, maybe November 12th should be coined as Cardinals Tight End Day.
Back In The Day
On November 12th, 1989, the Phoenix Cardinals defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 24-20. The Cardinals improved to 5-5 and the Cowboys fell to 1-9. This was the last win of the season for the Cardinals who finished the season with a record of 5-11. The Cowboys went 1-15 that season.
There were two quarterbacks who played for the Cardinals in that game, Tom Tupa and Gary Hogeboom. Tupa went 14/22 for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Hogeboom went 7/13 for 91 yards.
Cardinals’ tight end Robert Awalt was on the receiving end of 105 of those yards on six receptions. Awalt was a third round pick a third round pick by the St.Louis Cardinals in the 1987 NFL draft. He played with the Cardinals for three seasons.
Awalt’s best season from a statistical standpoint was his rookie season where he had 42 receptions for 526 yards and six touchdowns. He played for seven seasons in the NFL and each year his numbers declined. In a rare moment during his third season he had a big game against the Cowboys.
It was not only a rare moment for him but it turned out to be a very rare moment for Cardinals as it took 34 years for another tight end to eclipse 100 receiving yards again.
Where Are My Shades?
It shouldn’t take another 34 years for the Cardinals to have a tight end with more than 100 receiving yards in a game. McBride has shown glimpses of special potential. He could be the match-up nightmare that the Cardinals lean on for a very long time.
The 2022 second round pick out of Colorado State has all the traits of a tight end who can be a quarterback’s favorite target. He showed that in his senior year of college. McBride finished that season with 90 receptions for 1,121 yards.
Scouting reports on him going into the draft said he had strong hands to catch in traffic, the ability to separate from defenders during his routes, and athletic run after catch talent, among other good characteristics.
The draft scouting reports look to be pretty accurate so far and this is just the beginning for McBride. He should have plenty of games in his career where he goes over 100 yards receiving. The future is very bright for Trey McBride.
