The Eagles were one heave away from staying unbeaten. Then their own receiver got in the way and unfortunately cost the game.
AJ Brown Appears to Sabotage Teammate DeVonta Smith
AJ Brown Appears to Sabotage Teammate DeVonta Smith (Screenshot Via X/@_MLFootball)
Philadelphia dropped its first game of the season Sunday, falling 21-17 to Denver in a fourth-quarter collapse that left Birds fans seething. But the loss itself wasn’t the story.
A photo from the final play has since turned viral. It shows AJ Brown getting in DeVonta Smith’s way as Jalen Hurts attempted a successful deep pass to the end zone. No Broncos defender made the play. Brown’s own teammate did.
AJ Brown Appears to Sabotage Teammate DeVonta Smith
Eagles’ heartbreak unfolded in brutal fashion at the end of the fourth quarter. Trailing by four with seconds left, Hurts launched a prayer into the paint. Both Brown and Smith were positioned near the goal line for the jump ball. But as the pigskin descended, a close-up shot captured Brown’s hand grabbing Smith’s facemask.
The contact disrupted Smith’s timing. The ball fell incomplete, and it was game over.
The pass is incomplete and the @Broncos win! pic.twitter.com/vEgA9FC7Et
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
Brown had already been under fire for cryptic social media posts suggesting frustration with his role in the offense. He caught just five passes for 43 yards against Denver. The offense looked out of sync all afternoon. Brown’s limited production had become a storyline all week.
🚨🚨THIS IS INSANE🚨🚨
AJ BROWN TACKLED, PULLED THE FACEMASK OF HIS TEAMMATE DEVONTA SMITH TO STOP HIM FROM CATCHING THE HAIL MARY…
This is pretty damn crazy. Have never seen this happen between teammates on the final play of a game.
(📸@RyanGreeneDNVR) pic.twitter.com/x9JFz6AmJK
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 5, 2025
Now, this final play seemed to confirm what some fans already suspected, hinting that something was broken inside the locker room. Meanwhile, Broncos head coach Sean Payton wasseemingly celebrating the upset win in the smoky locker room.
Eagles Fans Blast AJ Brown for Costing the Team on Final Play
The visual is hard to digest, whether Brown intentionally yanked Smith’s mask or simply got tangled up fighting for position. The Eagles collapsed down the stretch, surrendering 18 straight points in the fourth quarter. And the season’s first L came with Brown’s fingerprints all over the most critical snap.
Eagles Nation asked for the answers, with the photo spreading like wildfire.
One fanwrote, “AJ Brown Is a Fraud.”
Anotherclaimed, “Much worse than Jim letting Michael fall into koi pond.”
A thirdshared, “If that’s true AJ Brown will have zero trade value but they’ll have to move him anyways.”
Someone elsenoted, “Bro wtf he killed his own teammate 😂😂😂”
Another fandeclared, “OMG WORST TEAMMATE SINCE OWENS.”
The comparisons to Terrell Owens extremely stung. For the unversed, T.O. famously clashed with teammates in Philly during the mid-2000s. That era ended in bitter divorce. Now, fans wondered if history was repeating itself.