👋 GOOD MORNING - Well… we’re doing one of these again. The Cardinals’ season has simply become a never-ending cycle of disappointment, frustration, letdown, fury… Whatever you feel like calling it.

They’ve just been tough to watch lately. But not to worry, we’ll talk about Sunday’s game and some other, happier Arizona sports news (welcome back, Merrill).

Away we go!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

Every week, it’s been a slightly different flavor of the exact same game: the Arizona Cardinals go down big early in the first quarter, fail to make any steady progress towards overcoming that deficit, and ultimately finish the game with some garbage-time production on the way to an ugly loss.

In fact, that’s been almost the exact same script in four of their last six games. For the fourth time in that span, they gave up 40 points to an opponent, this time falling 40-20 to the Houston Texans on the road.

It’s gotten to the point of the season where the most positive part of a Cardinals game is when it starts at 11:00 a.m., and you can drown out what you just watched with some better, more competent football in the later windows.

Regardless, the truth is Arizona simply can’t hang with anyone right now. Even the more “winnable” games left on the schedule just feel like a tough ask for this struggling squad.

The Cardinals were down 17-0 with more than six minutes remaining in the first quarter. Sure, they responded with a nice touchdown drive to Trey McBride (more on him later), but that’s when the game already felt over.

And it essentially was.

C.J. Stroud was able to stand tall all day, completing 22 of his 29 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns. The Texans ran for 143 yards on 33 carries (4.3 yards per carry). Arizona couldn’t stop the run or the pass, and their offense was too inefficient to keep pace in a shootout, for what felt like the hundredth game in a row.

The Cardinals aren’t tackling well. They aren’t running the ball well. They’re not getting pressure on opposing QBs. They’re playing coverage that’s so soft, those untouched QBs can simply wait for someone to be inevitably wide open in the middle of the field, and once complete, it takes a group effort to bring them down — multiple yards later.

It didn’t appear — at least to me — that this team doesn’t care. They’re playing hard, it’s just whatever they’re doing (or whatever they’re being coached to do) just isn’t enough. They’re injured, yes, but that can’t explain away blowout after blowout.

At some fundamental level, the Cardinals are not capable of playing a competitive game, against any opponent. And that’s disappointing given what this regime prides itself on.

But, there was still one (big) bright spot in another ugly, torturous game.

Trey McBride carried the Cardinals on his back on Sunday, and it wasn’t close to enough.

The Pro Bowler hauled in an immense 12 passes on 13 targets, recording 134 yards through the air and two touchdowns.

With that elite performance, he broke multiple records.

1 - McBride now has the longest streak of five-plus receptions in a game (16) in NFL history, and counting.

2 - He’s the first tight end in NFL history to record back-to-back 100-catch seasons.

3 - He’s the first Cardinal since Larry Fitzgerald in 2013 to catch 10 TD passes.

The point is, Trey McBride is a superstar and then some. It’s truly a shame there aren’t 52 more of them on Arizona’s roster. He is special, week in and week out.

Like he never left: Merrill Kelly is back with the Diamondbacks, as the veteran righty signed a two-year, $40 million deal to return to his hometown team. After he was traded for three promising pitching prospects at the Deadline, he’s back after making just 10 starts for the Texas Rangers. All is right with the world.

More on this move coming soon…

Iron Sharpens Iron: The No. 1-ranked Wildcat men’s basketball continued its campaign of terror, knocking down No. 12 Alabama by a score of 96-75 in Birmingham. It was the breakout game freshman guard Brayden Burries needed, with 28 points and seven rebounds. Arizona has yet to lose a game, and has taken down some impressive opponents on the way.

The Arizona women will take on the Chicago State Cougars tonight at 6:00 p.m. at McKale Center. Becky Burke’s team is a sturdy 7-2 to begin the year.

Comeback Kids: The Sun Devil basketball squad trailed 55-38 at halftime, but engineered a high-octane comeback against the Santa Clara Broncos on Saturday night, winning the second half 44-24 and earning a gritty 82-79 win. Massamba Diop led the scoring with 15, while Moe Odum had 12 and seven assists.

Oh, and there’s something else… what was it?

Right, coach Kenny Dillingham isn’t going to Michigan, which isn’t really a surprise if you’ve been paying attention, but is still great news for football in the valley.

Half-Laked: The Suns lost a heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Laker last night by a razor-thin score of 116-114 after fighting back for a late lead. Devin Booker made his return and led the scoring with 27 points. Mark Williams had 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Phoenix falls to 14-12 on the season.

This one got a little… chippy toward the end. It was kind of nice to see the LA-Phoenix rivalry surge a little bit, final score (and officiating) notwithstanding.

Someone, make it stop, please…