Arizona Cardinals (7-7) – New England Patriots (3-11): 30-17
Trey McBride (9 receptions, 87 yards) is a funny animal. His meeting allowed him to surpass some more or less appreciable records. Nevertheless, his performance once again gave some breathing room to the Cardinals who were suffocated for too long. Arizona returns to victory after three successive defeats.
The fault lies with an overexcited Christian Gonzalez (CB). The defender left nothing to his opponents and kept his team alive. Drake Maye (19/23, 202 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 1 rushing touchdown) tried to help him. The lack of ambient talent as well as the coaches' conservative game choices prevented him from expressing himself.
Christian Gonzalez locks up the match
Jonah Williams scored a touchdown. No, it's not a receiver or a running back lost in the Cardinals' depth of staff but the starting right tackle. The big bearded man took advantage of a ball escaped by Greg Dortch (WR) on a rough tackle to lie down on the ball which was running behind the goal. This is also the only notable fact of play in a very dull first half (13-3).
On the one hand, Arizona was in control on the ground thanks to James Conner (16 races, 110 yards, 2 touchdowns) once again the leader. And also applied defense (2 sacks, 0/6 in 3rd attempts). All of this is largely accentuated by a listless Patriots offense. The offensive line is once again very porous and leaves no time for Drake Maye to develop plays. Alex Van Pelt (OC) confines himself to a reductive style. Short passes rain down, without success.
The man of the first period is nevertheless on the Boston side. Christian Gonzalez reminds everyone that he is one of the best cornerbacks of his generation. In strict attribution to Marvin Harrison Jr. He gets the best of him three times, including one in the scoring zone. Gonzalez seems beaten by the running route, the throw is perfect but a hand slips between the receiver's arms at the last moment to make the ball jump. Exceptional.
Drake Maye, mayonnaise takes
Drake Maye had an up-and-down encounter but like his teammate Christian Gonzalez in defense, he held his attack alone. More aggressive in the second half, he demonstrated his throwing qualities with a superb long pass on the sidelines for Kendrick Bourne (WR). He also shows his improvisation skills with a pass on the Patriots' first touchdown which allows them to pick up in the fourth quarter (23-10). And he continues with a race into the end zone on the following drive for seven additional points (30-17).
Unfortunately, his team came from too far behind. And his teammates preferred to give the Cardinals an interception on a loose ball. Frustrating for the young quarterback. Especially when Kyler Murray (23/30, 224 yards) put out a lackluster and rather lucky performance with an interception called back for a foul.
Trey McBride, shower of receptions
When in doubt, the Cardinals always call on the same man. Trey McBride once again responded to the “ Signal flange “. Already ahead by 13 points at the start of the 4e quarter, Arizona's offense has been humming along up until that point. Trey McBride then continues the receptions on two consecutive drives, adapts, reacts, gains yards after receptions… And offers two touchdowns to the indestructible James Conner who twice only has to finish one meter from the 'in-goal (30-10).
If Trey McBride is not yet the most well-known name, he is certainly one of the rising stars at the tight end position. The player notably broke two records in the meeting. He surpassed his own record, that of the number of receptions for a Cardinals tight end in a season (89). But this number of receptions is also a new record for… a player who did not score a touchdown. An anomaly which shows that the honeymoon is not complete but also that the future can be very beautiful in the desert.
