Urban: Beck won’t play in ‘immediate future’

McBride looked like his normal, dominant self, carving up defenders on out routes and in-breakers. Unfortunately, hearts were also broken when Jacoby Brissett fired a touchdown pass right past McBride, running wide open inside the Lions’ five-yard line, to backup TE Teagan Quitoriano, also running wide open in the back of the end zone. Fortunately, McBride was able to haul in a juggling, falling and contested touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter to boost his final stat line. McBride is an elite TE1 against the Rams next week.

Wilson almost scored a passing touchdown via an end-around trick play on the Cardinals’ opening drive, but his receiver, Jacoby Brissett, was stopped two yards shy of the end zone. Heartbreak struck again two drives later, when Wilson only got one foot in bounds along the sideline on a would-be 19-yard catch. Brissett went right back to him on the following play, but the contested pass edged past Wilson’s outstretched hands. Wilson tacked on a couple of short gains before snagging a 17-yard pass on the Cardinals’ ninth drive, and he nearly bagged a 47-yard touchdown down the left sideline on the 10th drive, but his coverage defender effectively contested it, resulting in an incompletion. Wilson should handle a WR2-level workload against the Rams in Week 6.

Brissett also rushed twice for 19 yards and nearly scored on a trick play via a seven-yard reception. He was stopped at the Lions’ two-yard line. Brissett guided the Cardinals to a 14-play scoring drive on their first possession, which he capped off with a two-yard touchdown strike to backup TE Teagan Quitoriano. The bottom dropped out after that. The Cardinals racked up five straight drives ending a punt, with Brissett only managing to break the dreary streak by throwing an interception. Brissett managed to salvage his box score with another Quitoriano score, and a juggling touchdown catch secured by Trey McBride. Brissett also coaxed a few big plays out of fellow backup TE Elijah Higgins. Apparently, the veteran quarterback is ready to target more towering pass catchers with Marvin Harrison Jr. now a Texan. Brissett is a borderline QB1/2 with a shaky floor in Week 6 against the Rams. Coach Mike LaFleur said post-game that he is not considering a quarterback change.

Wilson is now up to a staggering 30 targets over the past two weeks after that number was “just” 14 across Weeks 1 and 2. He is managing to drew more looks than one of the biggest target sponges in the league Trey McBride, though the seam man still has 23 targets the past two weeks. Wilson and McBride have turned this offense into a two-man affair, with No. 3 Marvin Harrison Jr. now a distant role player. That’s all good and well in fantasy for the time being, but Jacoby Brissett has quietly been amongst the most ineffective QBs in the league. The rebuilding Birds may decide to get a look at Carson Beck sooner rather than later. Either way, that won’t be before next week’s potential shootout with the Lions. Wilson is now a weekly WR3 pushing for top-24 status.

It was another compiling-based statistical performance for the Cardinals’ dominant seam stretcher, but the PPR check clears all the same. Amazingly, seven catches were actually a new season low. McBride is going to keep stacking volume efforts, but he has now been out-targeted 30-23 by Michael Wilson over the past two weeks, not that a single soul is concerned about 23 targets in two games. Potentially more concerning is the negative chatter arising around Jacoby Brissett’s play. Either way, McBride has a Week 5 smash spot in the Lions.

Brissett added four carries for 18 yards. Entering the proceedings with just one pick through three starts, Brissett tossed two in the first half before “adding” a walk-off pick-six on the game’s final play. Trailing 30-24, the Cardinals had a 4th-and-goal from the Giants’ four-yard line. Then a pressured Brissett threw it right to Deonte Banks after Michael Wilson cut off his route in the end zone. It was a brutal end to a brutal game, one where Brissett took a pair of sacks in addition to his giveaways. He did find the beleaguered Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 12-yard score against man-to-man coverage on the game’s opening drive, but that opening drive score went down as MHJ’s only reception. The duo did draw a late DPI to set up their ill-faded goal-line series. Averaging a miserable 4.7 yards per attempt on 115 throws over his past three starts, Brissett could get the Carson Beck chatter going in the desert sooner rather than later. That being said, the Lions are a plus Week 5 matchup.

Wilson saw season-highs across the board as the Cardinals played catch-up against the 49ers for much of the day. He operated as the team’s No. 1 wide receiver, seeing over three times the opportunities as Marvin Harrison Jr. Catching much of the outside passes and intermediate crossers for the day, Wilson scored on a five-yard Jacoby Brissett pass in the third quarter. It’s clear he is Brissett’s top target in the offense, especially when the team is playing from behind. Wilson ranks as a high-end fantasy WR3 heading into Week 4 against the Giants.

McBride had a big receiving day, though penalties prevented it from being more productive. His first reception was called back due to offensive pass interference while he drew defensive pass interference in the endzone on a 4th-and-1 play. He continues to be the Cardinals’ most effective target on immediate routes, slashing through the 49ers defense for 75 yards. Not much more nuance is needed here, McBride is a fantasy TE1 for Week 4 against the Giants.

Brissett and the Cardinals offense had difficulty navigating penalties and finishing drives in the first half, playing catch-up for much of the second half. The offense wore down the 49ers’ banged-up defensive line over time, with Brissett tossing a pair of touchdowns and sneaking in another from the one-yard line to bring the Cardinals close in the fourth quarter. Though he couldn’t complete the comeback, Brissett’s fantasy production with 52 passing attempts is a good sign for Cardinals pass-catchers moving forward. However, they won’t be in as much of a pass-happy game script against the Giants in Week 4; Brissett is a fantasy QB2 for next week.

Beck continues to be the Cardinals’ third quarterback and will be a gameday inactive for Week 3 behind Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. Dadrion “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson (back) was scratched on Friday.