The Cardinals had a streak end against the Falcons — not the one they wanted.
The Arizona Cardinals had a streak end on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, but it wasn’t the streak they wanted to end. They lost the game 26-19, their seventh consecutive loss and their 12th in the last 13 games.
That streak was extended.
The streak that ended was Trey McBride’s. After setting the NFL record for the most consecutive games by a tight end with at least five receptions with a 16-game streak, that is where it ends.
On Sunday against the Falcons, he finished with four receptions for 27 yards. It was his lowest game since catching three passes for 20 yards last season against the Carolina Panthers in Week 16.
McBride was targeted eight times. He had two shots at extending his streak in the Cardinals’ second-to-last possession of the game. He was unable to haul in a pass to the end zone, and then Falcons safety Jessie Bates broke up the third-down pass.
McBride’s lack of production led to fellow tight end Elijah Higgins having a big game, hauling in seven passes for 91 yards, both career-highs.
“I thought (the Falcons) had a good plan for Trey,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said postgame. ‘They were obviously doing some things to take him away, so other guys have to step up, and I thought Elijah played his butt off catching the ball, blocking, catching runs. He converted a couple of third downs. We’re always going to try to get Trey the ball, obviously. I thought they did a good job on him. He had a one bang bang in the end zone. He normally comes down with that, but they made a good play on that one. I thought other guys stepped up.”
McBride now has 109 receptions for 1,118 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.
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