The Trey McBride Cardinals are in danger of reaching a dubious milestone

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride made history in Sunday’s 23-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

If nothing changes, he could soon find himself on the wrong side of history. More on that in a moment.

First the good news. He had 12 receptions for 96 yards at US Bank Stadium. It is the second straight game in which McBride has caught 12 passes, making him the first tight end in NFL history to catch 12 straight games.

A week earlier, he had passed for 12 for 133 yards in a loss to the Seahawks, who visit Arizona on Sunday.

“The guy is elite when he has the ball in his hands,” coach Jonathan Gannon said recently.

Of course there is just one small problem. As good as he was — he ranked second among all tight ends in receiving yards (781) and third in receiving yards (73) — McBride has yet to catch a touchdown pass this season.

He now has the dubious record of having the most receptions by an NFL tight end without a TD. Until Sunday, the honor rested with the Vikings’ Steve Jordan, who caught 68 passes without a single hit during the 1985 season.

But wait, things could get worse. The longer McBride’s streak without touchdowns continues, the more dangerous he becomes to becoming the most productive pass catcher without scoring in NFL history.

The record for most catches in a season without a touchdown is 86 by wide receiver Diontae Johnson of the Steelers in 2022. Running back James Wilder is second on that list with 85 in 1984 with the Buccaneers. Another running back, Roger Craig of the 49ers, caught 81 passes without a touchdown in 1986.

McBride’s 73 catches without scores are the seventh-most in a single season, but he is just 14 catches away from passing Johnson for the not-so-pleasant all-time record.

McBride has two touchdowns in 2024, one on a short run and one on a fumble recovery. But as great as he was at catching balls from Kyler Murray between the 20s, the end zone seems to be more of a forbidden zone for McBride.

The Cardinals desperately could have used it against the Vikings.

They were just 1 for 6 in the red zone on Sunday, which ultimately made the difference in the game. Yes, Arizona’s 10 penalties for 96 yards were murder. Murray’s two interceptions were also killer. But when they settled for five field goals from Chad Ryland and scored just one touchdown on a pass from Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr., they destroyed the Cardinals.

“I don’t know. I think we had a good plan offensively,” McBride told reporters after the game when asked about the team’s inability to score inside the 20-yard line. “I think , we did everything we were trained to do. For some reason we just faltered down there… A penalty here, a penalty there. I just think we didn’t play as cleanly as we could have .It has been shown Man.”

The crowd noise at US Bank Stadium may be partially responsible for Arizona’s few false starts, although rookie tight end Tip Reiman clearly had too many of them.

“Obviously the noise is a factor,” McBride said. “But we are trained better. We are better prepared. I think it’s just up to us. It’s a tough place, there’s no doubt about it. The fans are committed. I just think it was our lack of concentration.”

Even after the Vikings scored a game-winning touchdown and took the lead on John Parker Romo’s extra point, McBride said he felt the Cardinals had a chance when they got the ball back with 1:13 to play. Arizona also had all three timeouts left.

“It’s a lot of time with the offense we have and Kyler back there,” McBride said. “I have full confidence in our offense. We’re trying to get the ball there, of course we want a touchdown, but all we need is a field goal. Bad first play, bad second play puts us behind. Third and long, and then we have to try fourth. Kyler is trying to make a miracle play, but they also made a good play, so it’s frustrating.”

The defense, McBride said, did its best and gave the offense more than enough opportunities to get the win.

“It’s just hard to win without scoring touchdowns,” said the guy without touchdowns who would know. “That’s up to us. It’s up to me. It’s up to everyone. We have to do better.”

If Trey McBride doesn’t start catching touchdowns, it will be nearly impossible for the Cardinals to make the playoffs, let alone get better.

“Trey is a beast. I can’t say enough about Trey,” Murray said of McBride after Arizona’s Week 8 win over the Dolphins. “I tell you every week, I think he can be the best in the league.”

At the moment he is the best in the league without a single touchdown catch.

However, it could be worse. Gerald Riggs, a running back for Atlanta and Washington, played in 129 NFL games from 1982 to 1991 and although he finished his career with 201 receptions, he never caught a touchdown once.

Reach McManaman atbob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on

Most receptions without a touchdown

86 WR Diontae Johnson 2002 Steelers

85 RB James Wilder 1984 Buccaneers

81 RB Roger Craig 1986 49ers

76 RB Leonard Fournette 2019 Jaguars

75 WR Raymond Berry 1961 Colts

74 RB Priest Holmes 2003 Chiefs

74 WR Al Toon 1991 Jets

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The Trey McBride Cardinals are in danger of reaching a dubious milestone

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