Jacoby Brissett — Week 1: Thirteen Throws to McBride, No Picks
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 14
Brissett completed 27 of 37 throws for 277 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, was sacked once for no loss, and ran three times for 17 yards, every carry on third down and every one a first down. Thirteen of the 37 throws went to Trey McBride. Arizona converted 6 of 13 third downs in a 26–14 win over the Chargers.
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13 to seven, Cardinals, 11 27 left in the third quarter, second and eight at the Arizona 12. Jacoby Brissett threw deep left to Marvin Harrison for 33 yards to the Arizona 45. The throw was worth +2.8 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and 6.2 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it. By expected points it was the most valuable of the 38 pass plays Arizona ran. The drive had opened at the Arizona 10 and ended in a field goal, 16 to seven.
The line: 27 completions on 37 throws, 277 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, one sack for no loss, and +9.0 expected points on 38 pass plays. The touchdown was three yards short left to Trey McBride on second and three with 11 48 left in the fourth, up 16 to 14. Before halftime it was 16 of 21 for a hundred 64 yards; after it, 11 of 16 for a hundred 13. He also carried three times — one of them a scramble — for 17 yards, every one on third down and every one a first down: third and eight at the Chargers 41 with 13 30 left in the first, scoreless, 11 yards around left end, worth 8.2 points of win probability, the largest gain any Cardinals pass or run produced; then third and one twice, for two and for four. The one that went wrong was third and three at the Chargers nine with six 59 left in the second quarter, tied seven to seven: incomplete short right to McBride, −1.4, and Arizona kicked a field goal.
The ball went 13 times to McBride, eight to Kendrick Bourne, seven to Michael Wilson, four to Jeremiyah Love, three to Harrison and two to Tyler Allgeier; no throw was without a receiver. Arizona ran 21 pass plays and 14 designed runs before halftime, 17 16 after. On third down Brissett threw eight times, completed five, three of them for first downs, and took the sack on the ninth pass play; his three carries were the other three conversions. Arizona converted six of 13, and all six ran through him.
Back in June the preview called Brissett a watchlist — the seventeenth quarterback per game a year ago priced as the 20-ninth, the gap explained by a contract standoff, a rookie in Carson Beck behind him, and a bridge label; the production said starter, the preview wrote, and the paycheck said bridge. Sunday the starter took all 38 pass plays, and Beck was on the inactive list, per Donnie Druin at Arizona Cardinals On SI. One game with no turnovers does not rework a contract, and it is the first line of the résumé the price was discounting. Arizona is home to the Seahawks on Sunday the twentieth.
_Data via nflverse._
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