Trey McBride's great season is one of the few bright spots for the struggling Cardinals

TEMPE, Ariz. — Trey McBride is having the kind of season that most NFL tight ends can only dream about.

Individually, at least.

The Arizona Cardinals star had another huge game on Sunday, catching 12 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns against the Houston Texans, providing one of the few bright spots in a 40-20 loss that was not particularly competitive.

McBride is having the best season of his four-year career, catching 105 passes for 1,071 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has caught at least five passes in 16 straight games dating to last season, which is an NFL record for a tight end, breaking the mark of 15 set by Kansas City's Travis Kelce.

The problem for McBride is there's not much joy in those accomplishments because the Cardinals keep losing.

''Honestly, it's whatever,'' McBride said. ''It's cool. It's great, but it doesn't really matter. Sixteen games, and for what? We've got to win more games."

The Cardinals (3-11) haven't done that much this season. They've lost six games in a row and 11 of their past 12 after starting the season 2-0.

''You don't get your first offensive snap until you're down 10-0, it's hard to start the game like that,'' McBride said. ''But I'm proud of the way we fought. I thought we didn't give up ... but we've just got to start the game faster. We can't spot them 10 points like that.''

The Cardinals briefly made the game interesting, cutting the deficit to 33-20 early in the fourth quarter, but they couldn't get any closer.

''That's a good football team,'' coach Jonathan Gannon said of the Texans. ''We didn't do enough all three phases. We've got to play a little better complementary football. Any time we had some chances to get momentum back, one of the three phases kind of let us down. We can't dig a hole like that.''

What's working

The Jacoby Brissett-to-McBride connection just keeps getting more potent. Brissett has started nine games at quarterback since Kyler Murray went down with a foot injury and McBride has caught nine TDs over that span.

The Cardinals spent a lot of money on their revamped defense during the offseason, but it's getting worse as the season has progressed. Arizona is giving up 27.7 points per game this season, which ranks 27th in the league. Over the current six-game losing streak, it's giving up more than 36 points per contest.

Stock up

Walter Nolen III. The rookie defensive lineman has been limited to five games this season because of injuries, but when he's played, the No. 16 overall pick out of Mississippi has looked good. He had his second sack of the season against the Texans and could be a difference maker for a Cardinals defense that is searching for playmakers.

Stock down

Gannon's job security is an open question as the end of his third season nears. The coach said he expected the Cardinals to compete despite being eliminated from playoff contention two weeks ago, but two straight blowout losses have followed.

''I believe in myself and I believe in our team,'' Gannon said. ''We are at a dip right now and we're going through some adversity, but I do believe in us that we'll get out of the dip.''

Injuries

WR Andre Baccellia (neck), RB Bam Knight (ankle) and LB Cody Simon (knee) all left Sunday's game with injuries. CB Max Melton (heel), WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (heel), S Jalen Thompson (hamstring) and LT Paris Johnson Jr. (knee) were among seven inactives but could return against the Falcons.

Key number

4 — The Cardinals have given up at least 40 points in four of their past six losses.

The Cardinals host the Falcons on Sunday.

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