Can Eagles keep A.J. Brown happy and productive, and what that has to do with Jalen Hurts
PHILADELPHIA − Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is purposeful to a fault.
So there was a message that he wanted to get across when he posted on social media a Bible verse from Mark 6:11: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
Brown posted that instead of answering questions from reporters following the Eagles' 31-25 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when Brown had all of 2 catches for 7 yards.
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So what's the message? That Brown wants to be traded? That he's not on the same page with quarterback Jalen Hurts? That offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo isn't listening to him?
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was asked in his Sept. 29 press conference if Brown "still wants to be here."
"Yeah. Obviously, AJ is very important to this football team," Sirianni said. "I know he wants to contribute, and do the things that he’s capable of doing … Again, he wants to contribute into these wins, and he’s had a couple of games where he hasn’t been able to, for different reasons.
"I question nothing about his desire to play great football, his desire to be a great teammate, his desire to be here."
Sirianni said he talks to Brown on a daily basis, just like he does with other players. He added that he will always keep those conversations private.
Brown, meanwhile, has clearly been frustrated by his slow start, other than in the second half against the Rams on Sept. 21. That's when Brown had 6 catches for 109 yards.
In the other 3 1/2 games, Brown has just 8 catches for 42 yards.
Keep in mind that Brown has had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of his three previous seasons with the Eagles, including the top two seasons in Eagles history with 1,496 yards in 2022 and 1,456 in 2023.
Just about one-fourth of the way through the season, Brown is on pace for barely 700 yards.
Brown has never been shy about getting his message across. Last December, after an unimpressive win over the Carolina Panthers, Brown was asked what needs to improve offensively. He answered with one word: "Passing."
Clearly, in reference to Hurts, who threw for just 108 yards that day.
This season, after breaking out in the second half against the Rams, Brown said the offense was "too conservative" in the first half, when Brown didn't have any catches and the Eagles fell behind 26-7 early in the third quarter.
When asked if he had told the coaches about opening up the offense, Brown replied with a laugh: "No, but it’s out there now … Let us go hoop, and let us have fun."
That was clearly in reference to Patullo, in his first season as offensive coordinator although he served as Eagles' passing game coordinator the previous four seasons.
Brown wasn't having fun against the Bucs. And here is where Hurts comes in. If you combine the two good halves against the Rams and the Bucs, the Eagles combined for 456 yards, a full game's worth.
In the two bad halves against those two teams, the Eagles have just 32 yards.
So is that Hurts' fault? Against the Bucs, Hurts was 15 of 16 in the first half for 130 yards. In the second half, he was 0-for-8. Against the Rams, Hurts threw for 18 yards in the first half, 208 in the second.
It's not Hurts' fault in Sirianni's mind.
"I think he’s been really efficient," Sirianni said. "If you look at it, he’s in the top 10 in completion percentage, he’s in the top 10 in quarterback ratings ... All of those things show how efficient he’s been."
If you look at Hurts' numbers as a whole against the Bucs, he was 15-for-24 for 130 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His passer rating was 104.5, which would rank in the top 10 for the season.
If you look at Hurts' season totals as a passer, he has completed 69.3% of his passes, currently a career best. He has thrown 5 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. His passer rating is 101.5, just off his career high of 103.7 set last season.
In Hurts' last 15 regular-season starts, beginning after last year's game at Tampa Bay, the Eagles are 14-1, with the only loss coming to Washington last Dec. 22 when Hurts left in the first quarter with a concussion.
During that time, Hurts has completed 69.1% of his passes with 19 touchdown passes and just 1 interception. His passer rating is 110.2. That rating would rank fourth this season.
So maybe Eagles have become conservative − on purpose. Last year, it worked because Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards. This year, it hasn't because Barkley has just 237 yards through four games and is averaging 3.1 yards per carry.
But the Eagles are 4-0 in large part because Hurts hasn't turned the ball over, at all.
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That, of course, doesn't mean that things are perfect. Even Sirianni admits this.
In fact, he compared it to the first four games last season, when the Eagles were 2-2. The Eagles would have the same record this season had Jordan Davis not blocked a potential game-winning field goal against the Rams as time expired, or Jihaad Campbell not forced two Bucs turnovers, along with a Cameron Latu blocked punt that resulted in Sydney Brown's touchdown.
Through the first four games last season, Hurts had 930 yards passing as opposed to 609 this season. Hurts had also thrown 4 interceptions and lost 3 fumbles in the first four games of 2024. This season, nothing.
So yes, the Eagles are still searching for answers, and that is affecting Brown. That doesn't mean it will continue that way.
"We gotta coach more consistently, play more consistently across the board, so that we put together a full game," Sirianni said. "That first month of the season, you’re figuring some things out because at the end of the day, you want to continue to play better, better, better, so that you’re playing your best football at the end."
There's still a long way to go − both to remain efficient offensively while also making Brown happy again.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What Eagles A.J. Brown's cryptic message says about a trade, Jalen Hurts
Category: Football
