'This One's For Keeps' - Twins Chase and Sydney Brown Brace For Impact Sunday When the Bengals Face the Eagles

Jay Morrison | Oct 23, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals halfback Chase Brown (30) reacts to getting a first down in the first quarter of the NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – Chase and Sydney Brown have been playing football for most of their lives, but Sunday game will be a first for the Canadian-born twins.

From pee wee leagues through their time at the University of Illinois, Chase and Sydney have always been on the same team.

That run will end when Sydney and the Philadelphia Eagles visit Paycor Stadium on Sunday to face Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals.

“My mom doesn't want to watch, but she wants to watch at the same time,” Chase said. “It will be interesting. I think it will be a lot of fun. It will just be a lot of fun being able to compete against him.”

This will be the second time in three games a Cincinnati player has faced his brother after cornerback Dax Hill and Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill shared the field in Week 5.

But that matchup is more common with the brothers playing for division rivals. Dax didn’t get a chance to tackle his brother this year due to tearing his ACL, but he recorded four stops against him in the two games last season.

The Bengals and Eagles are only scheduled to play every four years, so this could be the only time the Brown brothers face one another.

And even then, they may not cross paths on the field.

Sydney – whom the Eagles took in the third round in 2023, two rounds before the Bengals selected Chase – made his season debut last week against the New York Giants after returning from an ACL injury, but he was limited to nine snaps in the fourth quarter after the game was out of hand.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship are Philadelphia’s starting safeties.

“I’m just glad he got medically cleared in time to play in this game,” Chase said a couple of weeks ago after the Eagles opened the 21-day window to return.

Chase was with Sydney every step of the way through his rehab.

The two twins talk, not just text, every day of the week.

“I've obviously talked some smack with my brother a little bit, but at the end of the day we're just going to go out and do our jobs and compete and talk about it after,” Chase said. “We're not going to make it anything bigger than it is.”

The brothers have cut off communication until after Sunday’s game.

“This week we told each other we're not going to talk,” Chase said. “We don't want to put anything out there. I don't want him to spill anything. I just want it to be a fair game and go out there full speed.

“I'll talk to him pregame for sure,” he added. “I might give him a call when they're flying out here and say something like ‘safe travels.’ But other than that, just compete.”

Their daily conversations usually have little to do with football, but that changed recently with their teams flip-flopping opponents.

The Bengals played the Giants in Week 6 and the Browns in Week 7. The Eagles played the Browns in Week 6 and the Giants in Week 7.

“We got into some football stuff the last couple of weeks, but it’s usually just random stuff, just catching up with my bro,” Chase said. “I’ll usually just call him on my drive home and see how his day went.

“Not talking to him all week is going to be hard,” he added.

There is a chance the two will talk during the game.

Sydney played 25 special teams snaps Sunday, one shy of the team high.

Five of those snaps were on kickoff coverage, and Brown leads the Bengals with seven kick returns this season.

Whether it’s Sydney tackling Chase or Chase slipping Sydney, words will be exchanged.

“It might happen in that moment, or it's going to be talked about right after the game,” Chase said. “It's definitely going to come up.”

Asked if the brothers have a wager of any sort on the game, Chase said none is needed.

“Bragging rights. That’s the bet,” he said. “This one’s gonna last for about four years. This one’s for keeps.”

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