A. J. Brown Takes Eagles by Storm: Eagles’ WR Quickly Becomes a Fan Favorite with His Tough Play and…
There was a moment in A.J. Brown‘s much-discussed media session following the Eagles-Carolina Panthers game in Week 14 when it looked as if he nearly broke character.
He had just said “passing” was the issue on offense — a terse response that would later be perceived as a shot at quarterback Jalen Hurts, most notably by teammate Brandon Graham.
A reporter then asked how hard it was for a receiver to get into a rhythm when the offense was not passing the ball much.
“Incredibly tough,” Brown said with a straight face, before looking away and letting out a smile and suppressing a laugh that didn’t match the supposed seriousness of his remarks.
As the drama raged over the ensuing days and Brown’s merits as a teammate were debated by various pundits, he changed his Instagram profile photo to an image of the Joker from the movie “The Dark Knight.”
Brown didn’t expect the type of firestorm ignited by his original comments, but he did acknowledge last week that his words were intentional, designed to shift the focus to the slumping pass game so it could be fixed before it was too late. It’s part of his distinctive leadership style that has led to him being misunderstood publicly but appreciated by his peers internally over his two-plus years with the Eagles.
“I’m OK with being whatever bad guy I have to be for the city, the town, whatever the case may be,” he said, “to hold everybody accountable, be accountable, and to get better. If I’m that guy I will be that guy, gladly.”
The scrutiny from the outside helped spark what fellow receiver DeVonta Smith said were a lot of “tough” and “uncomfortable” conversations leading into last week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brown spoke of extra meetings between players and coaches that emphasized improving details and communication in the passing game.
The results couldn’t have been more clear: After three straight weeks of being held under 180 yards through the air, Hurts went 25-of-32 for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 27-13 win over Pittsburgh, marking the Eagles’ 10th straight victory. With concerns over the aerial attack largely alleviated, Philadelphia appears set up as well as any team in the NFL to make a run at a championship.
Brown is not shy about wanting the ball, and his comments certainly seemed to help him to that end: after only four targets against the Panthers, he received a season-high 11 targets against the Steelers, leading to eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
But the consensus in the locker room is that his desire to be involved is linked to his belief that it helps give his team the best chance of winning.
He has a strong argument. The Hurts-Brown connection is No. 1 in the NFL this season in yards per target (12.1), compared to an average of 7 yards when Hurts targets the rest of his playmakers, per ESPN Research. Hurts’ QBR jumps from 58 to 96 when throwing to Brown, while the first down rate goes from 33% to 59%.
