National Football League

Eagles OC Brian Johnson: We have to get A.J. Brown more involved

Published Jan. 3, 2024 4:08 p.m. ET

A.J. Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles went from being the No. 1 seed in the NFC to potentially not even hosting a wild-card playoff game.

This past week, the Eagles blew a 21-6 halftime lead and lost at home to the Arizona Cardinals (4-12). Brown logged just four receptions on five targets in the loss, which offensive coordinator Brian Johnson elaborated on Tuesday during his media availability.

"We didn’t run a whole bunch of plays. He had one catch in the second half. I don’t remember exactly every single pass that we ran in the second half, but A.J. is a great player, and we’ve got to force him the ball sometimes and make sure we get him going," Johnson said.

Johnson reiterated that getting Brown more touches is paramount.

"A.J. is a fantastic player. He demands a lot of attention defensively. He’s had a fantastic year to this point. I think he’s still on pace to have a career year," Johnson said. "A.J. is somebody that obviously everybody in this building has a lot of trust, a lot of respect for, and we’ve got to do a great job of getting him the ball. I have to do a great job of getting him the ball."

Ironically, Brown is having arguably the best season of his NFL career (2019-present), totaling a career-high 105 receptions for 1,447 yards and seven touchdowns. Brown needs just 50 more receiving yards to set a new career high.

While Philadelphia remains a potent force on the ground, its passing game has left much to be desired, averaging just 229.3 passing yards per game (16th in NFL). Furthermore, quarterback Jalen Hurts has thrown a career-high 14 interceptions, tied for third-most in the sport, while boasting a 91.0 passer rating. For perspective, Hurts posted a 101.5 passer rating and threw just six interceptions last season.

Jalen Hurts says Eagles "got to clean things up" ahead of matchup vs. Giants

Philadelphia began the season 10-1, but it was then crushed by the San Francisco 49ers, 42-19, and Dallas Cowboys, 33-13. The Eagles proceeded to lose a heartbreaker to the Seattle Seahawks in the closing seconds, as the latter scored a go-ahead touchdown with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. They then snuck past the New York Giants (5-11), whom they had beaten 10 consecutive times at Lincoln Financial Field beforehand, 33-25.

The Eagles have subsequently slipped to the No. 5 seed in the NFC, edged out by the Cowboys via tiebreaker for first place in the NFC East. Philadelphia needs to beat New York on the road and for Dallas to lose on the road against the Washington Commanders (4-12) in Week 18 to win the NFC East.

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