— With Harrison out, it is Michael Wilson as WR1 again. That’s proven pretty good so far, although the Texans have a great secondary. A Wilson quirk: he has trouble sleeping after games. (That’s regardless of his workload). He might get three hours on Sunday night, not ideal when going into the next week prepping for a game. So on Monday night, he said his wife Sophia has been kind enough to allow him to get to bed by 7:45 p.m. – they have a baby at home – and he shuts out the world until he gets up at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“It gets me rejuvenated,” Wilson said. (And makes sure he’s not a zombie come Friday.)
— One guy who will play but is banged up is safety Budda Baker, whose first big defensive game in his career came as a rookie in Houston in 2017. Baker has a thumb injury and is wearing some kind of cast or wrap on it – and he admitted it could be tough if a ball is in range of an interception.
“I’m going to try my best,” Baker said with a smile. “The first INT of my career I did have a cast on, it was one of these catches.” Baker showed himself making a body catch. If he has to reach up and just use his hands, he said, “we’ll see.”
— The Cardinals will face Christian Kirk, once Kyler Murray’s top deep threat, for the first time since Kirk left as a free agent after the 2021 season. Kirk had a fantastic first season gone in Jacksonville but injuries have undercut his career. This year he has 22 catches for 209 yards as the Texans’ slot receiver.
— Baker plays golf with Kirk in the offseason. But come Sunday, there won’t be any trash talk.
“Christian, he’s so freaking nice on the field, I don’t like talking to guys who are nice,” Baker said. “If someone says something nice, I’m just quiet. I know we might say hello during the game, but other than that, he’s the enemy.”
— Trey McBride has a chance to own by himself a second NFL record for tight ends on Sunday. Already owning the mark for most receptions in his first four seasons, McBride needs five catches (or more) in Houston to reach that level for a 16th straight game, which would break his current tie with the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce.
— McBride needs seven catches to reach 100 for a second straight season, and 63 yards to reach 1,000 for a second straight season.
— For the time being, the Cardinals and Texans will forever be linked thanks to that initial draft day trade Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort made in his first draft with the team in 2023. The Texans had the No. 2 pick, the Cardinals the No. 3 pick. The Cardinals traded back – first to 12 with the Texans, then back up to 6 in a trade with the Lions – and took left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. The Texans, now picking third, took pass rusher Will Anderson.
The Cardinals also got a second-round pick, and then 2024 first- and third-round picks. The Cardinals traded that second-round pick to the Titans to move down to get another second-round pick (OLB BJ Ojulari) and a third-round pick (CB Garrett Williams), as well as a 2024 third-round pick.
In 2024, that extra first-round pick turned into defensive lineman Darius Robinson, and the Houston third-round pick into cornerback Elijah Jones. The third-round pick from the Titans became guard Isaiah Adams.
— I know sometimes fans get frustrated feeling like they care more than players and coaches when things go wrong. But then you talk to a guy like Hjalte Froholdt and you understand how much this means to them.
— The final two games of the season, Weeks 17 and 18, were officially on the schedule as Saturday or Sunday. Week 17, not surprisingly, has been finalized as a Sunday game for the Cardinals, Dec. 28, for an 11 a.m. kickoff Arizona time. The Week 18 game in Los Angeles against the Rams is likely to be a Sunday game too.
— If you have a couple of minutes, The Athletic posted this excellent video of Bruce Arians reading memories of people in his career and then reaction. There are multiple anecdotes from his time in Arizona, including from ex-Cardinals A.Q. Shipley and Drew Stanton. Definitely entertaining.
— The last word goes to defensive lineman Calais Campbell, on the responsibility of the Cardinals defense in a game going against the Texans’ top-ranked defense.
“You always want to play good ball whether the offense is scoring a lot of points or not, but there is a level of, ‘OK, we know their defense is legit and the real deal, so for us to be in this ballgame we need to play better defense, be just as good as their defense.’ That is something you pay attention to.”