3 Last-Minute Bold Predictions for Cardinals vs Texans

It's a tale of two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals visiting the Houston Texans.

On one side of things, the Cardinals are floundering with five straight losses plus 10 of their last 11 games. Arizona is out of playoff contention and firmly in the race for a top-five (or higher) draft pick for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Then you have the Texans, who responded to an 0–3 start to the year by going 8–2 over their last 10 games with statement wins over the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, and Kansas City Chiefs. Quite the résumé that befits an awesome roster.

So, what should we expect from this game? In the famous words of Clubber Lang, “Prediction? Pain.”

On paper, this game shouldn’t be close, and a red-hot Texans team hosting a Cardinals team that’s likely DOA should get ugly. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make some bold predictions. In fact, I’ll do my best not to be such a party pooper.

Fret not, Cardinals fans. I do believe this showdown will provide something worth watching, no matter how small that might be. We can start things off with what I believe will be a historic day for everyone’s favorite tight end...

Trey McBride tops 1,000 yards, 10 touchdowns on the season

The best tight end in football is 63 yards away from his second-straight 1,000-yard receiving season and two touchdowns away from his first double-digit touchdown season. He’s also averaging 71.1 receiving yards per game, but has just one score in the last three games.

To hell with it, I’m saying McBride is breaking both barriers against the Texans.

To be clear, Houston’s defense has been fantastic this season in nearly every facet of the game, and they’ve faced players as good as McBride. However, they’ve not faced players as good as McBride with a fearless, if not arrogant, passing game that is targeting him nearly 10 times per game. Between volume and talent, McBride will have another big day at the office.

It’s a sack-fest

Cardinals quarterbacks have been sacked 45 times this season, with Jacoby Brissett being brought down 29 times in eight starts. Conversely, Texans quarterbacks have been sacked 30 times, and C.J. Stroud has been brought down 22 times. That’s no surprise considering how porous these offensive lines are. In fact, you could combine each team’s offensive line to give you the best starting lineup possible, and the unit would still be bad.

Defensively, the Cardinals only have 24 sacks, but 11 are from the monstrous Josh Sweat. Houston has 36 team sacks, including 21.5 combined between Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Three players... 32.5 sacks... 246 sack yards... and 39 TFLs for good measure.

I advise you not to go into this game anticipating clean pockets and easy throwing lanes. These three players should be busy in backfields, dominating the unlikely blockers in front of them. Just between those three, I think we see five or more sacks. If anyone else gets involved, we could see a palooza of quarterbacks embracing the turf.

No one is running, but everyone is passing

How many running backs have run for 100+ yards this season for the Cardinals? Trick question, because no one has. Now, would you believe me if I told you that the same was true for the Texans? As crazy as it is to hear, it’s true and to be expected with Pro Bowlers James Conner and Joe Mixon missing most, if not the entire, season.

But when it comes to passing the ball, neither of these teams is struggling. The Cardinals have five instances this year where a receiver topped the century mark through the air. Michael Wilson has done it three times, while Trey McBride has topped that number twice. Houston has three 100-yard receiving games, all courtesy of Nico Collins.

Both teams have several weapons beyond those three, and passing production hasn’t slowed down, even with backup quarterbacks seeing action in several games for both teams.

The Texans may own the third-best passing defense in the league, but Brissett is airing out the ball like he has nothing to lose. I’m not sure whether the Texans will break through running the ball, but they’re passing it much more effectively and shouldn’t change things up now.