A.J. Brown wants the ball. The Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver has made that clear amid a disappointing individual season, one that has led him to air his grievances publicly.
But one play in Sunday night’s win over the Detroit Lions explains why it’s not only Brown who’s frustrated this year. Eagles fans are frustrated with Brown, too.
Brown had another middling performance in the 16-9 win over the Lions. No one on the offense played particularly well, so he’s not alone there. But Jalen Hurts and the Eagles made an effort to get Brown the ball with a season-high 11 targets. He had seven catches for 49 yards.
Brown had a chance to double his yardage and maybe score, though, late in the third quarter.
On a third-and-15 at the Eagles’ 48-yard line, Hurts identified man-to-man coverage without a safety over the top and targeted Brown down the field on a vertical route. Brown was hand-fighting with Detroit cornerback Rock Ya-Sin initially. Then, the All-Pro receiver slowed down.
At the Lions’ 35-yard line, Brown pulled up, seemingly not expecting the ball to come his way. But as Brown “throttled down,” as NBC play-by-play Mike Tirico described it, Hurts was letting it fly. Brown sped up at the end but couldn’t track down the pass, which landed at Detroit’s 15.
“Constant hand-fighting down the field. Just missed,” Brown said in the postgame locker room of the play. “Not saying (Hurts) missed. We just missed. I couldn’t get to it.”
Brown couldn’t get to it, though, because he seemingly gave up on the route. At least that’s how NBC color commentator (and former All-Pro receiver) Cris Collinsworth saw it.
“You can’t do that,” Collinsworth said. “You’ve got to assume you’re going to get the ball.”
On Tuesday, OC Kevin Patullo was asked about the play with Brown. Patullo didn’t stoke the fire. But he did use one word in particular which seemed like an acknowledgement.
“He kind of got tangled up with the DB. I’m not so sure he located the ball wholeheartedly‚" Patullo said. “But we’ve just got to continue to find ways to connect on those kinds of things and work on them in practice. Really, throughout the history of it, Jalen and A.J. do an unbelievable job of connecting on those kinds of things. And we’ll continue to throw them to him. Because he’s going to do his job and get open, and we usually hit them.”
Brown and Hurts usually do connect on those. One-on-one deep shots have been a staple since Brown was acquired from the Titans — since he came to Philadelphia, racked up 4,031 receiving yards from 2022-24 and established himself as one of the league’s best receivers.
Frankly, it wasn’t a good look from Brown. But apparently dogging it on one route doesn’t negate his right to be frustrated by how this season has gone.
In nine games, Brown has 38 receptions for 457 yards and three touchdowns. His 50.8 yards per game clip is currently a career-low and is tied for 46th in the NFL. Brown’s route tree has been limited, and that predictability — as well as Hurts prioritizing not turning the ball over — has been partially responsible for his lack of production.
As for the Eagles, they rank first in three-and-outs, 23rd in yards per play (5.1) and 20th in scoring (234 points).
The Eagles are winning. At 8-2, they’re in pole position for the NFC’s No. 1 seed — and the first-round bye and home-field advantage that comes with it. That’s the most important thing.
But as Brown has said time and time again, for the Eagles to win another Super Bowl, the offense needs to be better. And as that one rep against Detroit showed, Brown has to be better (and more attentive) when opportunities come his way.
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