National Football League

A dominant A.J. Brown would make everyone in Philadelphia happy again

Published Jan. 5, 2024 10:46 a.m. ET

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Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

For two weeks, A.J. Brown has seemed to be in a bit of a mood. He refused to speak to the media. He wasn't having an impact on the field. And his body language, as caught on camera in particularly disappointing moments, was a terrible array of slumped shoulders, angry looks and shaking heads.

There was nothing wrong, he insisted when he broke his silence in Philadelphia on Wednesday. He was just as frustrated as the rest of the slumping Eagles. But he finally realized that it was all becoming a very bad look.

"I felt like I was doing the right thing as a captain by not compounding the negative with the negative," Brown said. "We were going through tough times, and I didn't want to continue to be negative. It took me a couple days to realize my teammates are answering questions on my behalf. I can speak for myself."

He's right, but his silence wasn't the real problem for his teammates. What the Eagles need from Brown right now is to remember that his actions speak much louder than his words.

Halfway through this season, Brown's actions were huge. He was on a record pace, riding an unprecedented streak of six straight games with at least 125 yards receiving. He was so dynamic, so unstoppable that he was being mentioned as a fringe candidate in the NFL MVP race.

Since then, he's mostly disappeared. He's had one game with more than 100 receiving yards (114 in a 42-19 loss in San Francisco). He's had less than 70 yards in five of his last eight games, including a one-catch, eight-yard shocker in a win at Kansas City. He hasn't caught a touchdown pass since Nov. 26. Jalen Hurts only threw to him five times in the Eagles' crushing, 35-31 loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday.

Brown went from averaging 7.5 catches and 117.4 yards per game in the first eight games, to just 5.6 catches and 56.5 yards in the last eight.

The Eagles survived the start of that slump. But they've missed him a lot lately. His lack of production is a big factor in why they've lost four of their last five games.

That's because it's hard to run an offense when one of the offense's biggest weapons is missing in action, especially in key parts of the game. And if the Eagles (11-5) want to survive a gauntlet of playoff games on the road — which they are almost certain to face unless the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) somehow lose in Washington on Sunday — they're going to need Brown to start making those big plays again.

That won't just change Brown's mood. It could change the outlook of the entire team.

"A.J., he's going to want to change the game at all times," said Eagles coach Nick Sirianni. "And he's capable of doing that at all times."

Added offensive coordinator Brian Johnson: "A.J. is a great player. We've got to force him the ball sometimes and make sure we get him going."

Are the Eagles' struggles on the players or coaches?

It's not clear, exactly, what's stopped him from going as well as he was in the first half of the season. Though it does seem like he disappears from the game plan at times, the truth is Hurts is throwing to Brown — who was selected to his third Pro Bowl on Wednesday night — as much as he ever has lately. During his historic six-game streak early in the season, he was being targeted 11.2 times per game.

In the last six games, he's been targeted 10.1 times per game. But he's only caught 60.7 of those passes — 37 of 61. And according to Pro Football Focus, only three of the 24 misses were counted as drops.

That's a lot of uncatchable passes — either off target or well-defended — that have been coming Brown's way.

It was assumed that was the source of Brown's frustrations. And it became a huge deal when a camera caught him shaking his head while walking off the field near the end of the Eagles' loss to the Cardinals, after the offense stalled on their last drive and settled for a field goal, leaving plenty of time on the clock for the Cardinals to win the game.

The next day, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story saying Brown's souring mood and antics were "tearing the team apart."

Behind the scenes, though, there were actually better signs. Brown had organized an outing for teammates two days before the Cardinals game to an Escape Room to help the team bond and get away from the stress of their losing slide. All of the other captains on the team made sure to attend.

"That's so cool that he's reaching out to his teammates and wanting to connect and do things off the field," Sirianni said. "That's special and A.J. is special."

A.J. Brown on if Nick Sirianni has lost Eagles locker room

He did more good things this week. He apologized to his teammates for putting them in the awkward position of explaining his recent behavior. On Wednesday, he took some heat off the coaches by explaining things he and his teammates had done wrong on some key plays in recent weeks. And he made sure everyone knew that he and Sirianni had a "great relationship." He told that to his teammates, too.

And that's great, but again, what the Eagles need now is not Brown's love. They need more from him on the field, especially now that DeVonta Smith is out with a sprained ankle and expected to miss at least the regular season finale against the New York Giants this Sunday. The Eagles have gotten only spotty help this season from their other receivers, like Quez Watkins and veteran Julio Jones.

If Smith's absence extends into the playoffs — or even if he's just limited — the Eagles will need a whole lot more from Brown.

They probably need it regardless. Because when Brown is at his best, there aren't many NFL receivers who are better. Even with his recent slump, he still ranks fifth in the NFL in catches (105) and third in yards (1,447). The catches are already a career-high, and he'll set a new career-high in yards with 50 more on Sunday. His touchdowns (seven) and yards per catch (13.8) are down, but he's still a threat to score any time he catches the ball.

And when defenses have to account for his big-play ability it opens the field for the Eagles' dangerous rushing attack and all the other Eagles receivers. The connection between him and Hurts can be special when it's working. To make a real run at the Super Bowl, the Eagles need it to be special again.

The Eagles need him to be a game-breaker a lot more than they need him to be in a good mood.

"I want to win," Brown said. "And I'm trying to do everything in my power to win. I wake up before the sun come up, I go home hours after the sun goes down. This is our life. We dedicate our whole entire life to this s—t. But it's serious to us. It comes with frustration."

"Sometimes it's hard to have fun and hard to find the enjoyment when you're in a rut like we are," Sirianni added. "But he's always going to want to change the game because he knows he's capable. That's just him being the playmaker he is."

That's really the key to Brown's happiness — making him the playmaker he knows he can be. And that won't just cheer him up, either. It'll do wonders for the mood of everyone in Philadelphia, too.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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National Football League

Philadelphia Eagles

A.J. Brown

Jalen Hurts

DeVonta Smith

Ralph Vacchiano