‘The Offense Runs Through Him’: Brian Schottenheimer Sizes Up Trey McBride, Jacoby Brissett, Jeremiyah Love Before Dallas Cowboys Host Arizona Cardinals

FRISCO, Texas — The Arizona Cardinals run their offense through tight end Trey McBride, Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Friday, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett knows how to use a player like him.

Schottenheimer was the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterbacks coach in 2016 and 2017, and Indianapolis traded for Brissett in September 2017.

McBride has caught at least 7 passes in all seven of Arizona’s games. He has 59 catches for 472 yards and 4 touchdowns, and he set season highs with 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown Sunday in a 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos. Last season, he caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards.

Brian Schottenheimer On Trey McBride’s Place In The Arizona Cardinals Offense

Schottenheimer compared the way Arizona features McBride to the way Indianapolis used Jack Doyle, a tight end he said most of the world probably does not know about.

“He’s got receiver movement qualities in a tight-end body. He’s got running back, make-you-miss, change-of-direction ability in a tight-end body,” Schottenheimer said. “They certainly feature him. Being around Jacoby Brissett for those two years in Indy, he knows how to utilize those guys. We had a really good tight end. Most of the world probably doesn’t know about, but Jack Doyle was a really good player in this league for a while, a lesser name.”

“But, I mean, the offense runs through him. The play just gets started when he just gets the ball, because he is dynamic with the ball in his hands. And we have to do things to frustrate him and make it hard for Jacoby to find him,” Schottenheimer continued.

Dallas has plans built to take McBride away. The ball is still going his way, in Schottenheimer’s view, and the plans have to fit a short week after the Cowboys played Monday night in Philadelphia.

“Again, I think it’s a short week-ish, so it’s a little bit where you’ve got to be careful. But we know that he’s a big part of what they do, so therefore you have plans and different things that you try to do to take him away,” Schottenheimer explained. “But the ball is going to go his way. So if we don’t do a good job of getting people in his face and getting people around him and near him, then he’s shown the ability to hurt people.”

Linebacker Shemar James, who calls the Dallas defense, said Wednesday that Arizona is going to force-feed McBride the ball.

Schottenheimer Remembers Jacoby Brissett’s Film Sessions In Indianapolis

Brissett, in his 11th NFL season, leads the league with 282 pass attempts. He has completed 65% of his passes for 1,600 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions through seven games. Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said Monday that Brissett remains the starter.

Brissett beat Dallas the last time the teams met. He completed 21-of-31 passes for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for another score in Arizona’s 27-17 win at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 3, 2025.

The Brissett that Schottenheimer remembers was an early morning guy, and their film meetings were a highlight for the coach.

“One, his preparation is elite. He works incredibly hard. He’s an early morning guy. I used to love our meetings together, just watching film and grinding film,” Schottenheimer said. “The arm talent is real. He’s got a big arm. He can make all the throws. Very competitive. He’s hard to get down on the ground. He’s a big man that if you don’t wrap him up, he’s going to fight for extra yards.”

“Hopefully we can get around him, because if you do get around him, that competitor in him will get him to force some balls into tight windows that hopefully we can take advantage of. But again, he knows who his weapons are. He knows how to use them,” Schottenheimer added.

Arizona drafted running back Jeremiyah Love third overall in April. He missed games against the Los Angeles Rams and Denver with a left ankle injury, practiced on a limited basis Wednesday and Thursday, and will play Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday.

“Getting Love back, he’s a dynamic player both running the ball, but also out of the backfield. So they’re going to test our interior coverage pieces,” Schottenheimer continued.

Dallas (3-4) hosts Arizona (2-5) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.