Eagles stars A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts on Wednesday answered questions about their relationship in the wake of an infusion of drama to the team’s 11-2 season that stemmed from a Brandon Graham radio interview earlier in the week.
Both guys say they’re good.
“BG was being BG,” Brown said on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s emotional. In that case, he just misspoke. Me and Jalen are good.”
The public firestorm was created on Monday night when Graham intimated that the relationship between star quarterback and star receiver was in some way fractured.
Graham later attempted to clarify those remarks by saying he made assumptions he shouldn’t have.
“We’re good. We’re good,” Hurts said about his relationship with Brown on Wednesday afternoon. “We spoke. I think in the end, BG knows he spoke out of place.”
Graham’s comments on Monday night came after what Brown said following Sunday’s 22-16 win over the Panthers. When asked what the offense needed to do better, Brown replied with one word: “Passing.”
Plenty of folks, including Graham, took that as a direct criticism of Hurts.
But Brown said that wasn’t the case.
“I think everybody (did),” Brown said. “I think that’s what the world did. They perceived what I said about passing and felt like it was an attack on Jalen and I think that’s what [Graham] did. Me and Jalen’s relationship is personal.”
The Eagles on Sunday had a total of just 83 net passing yards in a tight win over a three-win Panthers team. After speaking so vaguely on Sunday night, Brown was asked on Wednesday what he meant by the “passing” comment.
He used the opportunity to expound on that answer.
“When he asked the question, what the offense can do better, obviously it’s not running the ball,” Brown said. “[Saquon Barkley is] about to win MVP. Like literally. So what else can we do as an offense? We have to pass the ball. That can go into a protection, that can be picking up a block, that can go to us getting open, being on the same page, Jalen’s reads, whatever the case may be. It’s a collect group of things. I think people was just thinking that way.
“And I said that for a reason. Honestly, because we went to the Super Bowl and lost. We tried again next year, we were 10 and whatever our record was and it was a landslide. And here we go again. And this is something we can correct right now while we have the opportunity. That’s why I was bringing awareness and bringing it to everybody’s attention. This is something we can focus on. We know we can run the ball. Saquon is doing a great job. We’re not against running the ball. We love Saquon. Ask him what I tell him at the end of the game: End the game. Do your job, end the game.
“I’m OK with being whatever bad guy I have to be for the city, the town, whatever the case may be for my team, holding everybody accountable and to get better. If I’m that guy, I will be that guy.”
Brown and Hurts have a longstanding relationship that predates their time as teammates in Philadelphia. In fact, they celebrated together in 2022 when Brown was traded to the Eagles.
Hurts on Wednesday was asked about the dynamics of having that close of a relationship with a teammate.
“Sometimes things change as dynamics change,” Hurts said. “But for him, he knows I got a lot of love for him, just like I got a lot of love for all these guys. Ultimately, he’s a guy that’s a competitor, he wants to win, he damn sure wants the ball and he wants to make an impact in the game. And I respect that. That’s just like all of us.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni addressed all of this drama in the team meeting on Wednesday morning and wants the team to push beyond this.
The Eagles during their nine-game winning streak have leaned heavily on their running attack with Barkley and one of the best offensive lines in football. But because of that, they haven’t passed the ball as frequently. And all parties, including Hurts and Brown, agree that their passing attack was not good enough on Sunday. Brown did not see a single target until inside the 2-minute warning in the first half.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Eagles have already wrapped up a playoff spot and have an inside track to get one of the top seeds in the NFC.
They also have a tough game against a 10-3 Steelers team on Sunday.
“I told everybody to just dominate their box,” Hurts said. “Everyone, including myself. That’s what it’s about. I don’t want to get lost in the sauce of everything else when the main thing is to come out here, go through prep, do what we need to do and go out there and play.”
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