A.J. Brown Vs. Jalen Hurts Reveals Eagles Too Uptight

The Philadelphia Eagles may be feeling the pressure of high expectations. … with A.J. Brown’s conflict with Jalen Hurts offering evidence.

PHILADELPHIA - “The standard is the standard” is a popular refrain you’ll hear from Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts, and that nebulous measuring stick has helped turn a 2-0 start into something of a disappointment.

On paper, third-year head coach Nick Sirianni is rolling, owning a 25-11 career record with the Eagles, marking the highest regular-season winning percentage (.694) by any mentor in team history. That’s also the fourth-best record by any NFL head coach since 2021, trailing only Andy Reid (.743, 26-9), Sean McDermott (.727, 24-9), and Mike McCarthy (.714, 25-10).

Take out his 2-5 start as a rookie mentor learning his way and Sirianni is 23-6 (.793) since, and the team has one 19 of its past 20 games started by Hurts.

That success has created unreasonable expectations. The fan base wants not only those victories but the accompanying style points and the front office wants another championship. 

The Lombardi Trophy is the only acceptable outcome in a Super Bowl-or-bust environment.

The sideline dustup between Hurts and star receiver A.J. Brown during a 34-28 win over Minnesota Thursday night, opened a window into the organization’s soul right now.

Handling the minor hiccup between two legitimately very good friends away from the field should have been easy. Instead, it was indicative of just how tightly this organization is wound right now.

Sirianni is certainly savvy enough to realize the question was coming after the game yet handled the tipped pitch poorly by playing dumb despite millions of online shoppers seeing video evidence of the exact opposite on their favorite streaming service.

“I don’t know. I didn’t see what was going on with that. We were just trying to manage the game,” was the coach’s first try at obfuscation.

The dodge was met by the parry of “The TV showed that you kind of interjected there. What did you have to say to A.J. and Jalen?”

The jig was up and the response to being informed his hand was caught in the cookie jar wasn’t exactly anger but it was salty … with a dash of hubris.

“The conversations we have on the field are going to be private, and the conversations we have in our locker room are going to be private,” Sirianni sniped. “You don’t need to know what was going on right there.”

Fellow receiver DeVonta Smith tried the same path as Sirianni before relenting.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” was Smith’s first try before opening up. “... That’s part of being a competitor, man. You always want to feel like you’re part of the team. Anytime something like that’s going on, it’s not nothing bad.

“He’s not bashing nobody. He just wants to be part of the team, wants to help us.”

Reporters don’t “need” to know anything, of course, but the fans they represent would like to know … and the speculation that always results from this kind of spin is always far worse than the honesty that cuts it off at the knees.

Anyone who has watched the NFL for 10 minutes understands star receivers typically want the football - and Brown is no different.

That’s it and typically it was Hurts, at the tender age of 25, who had to be the adult in the room, taking the issue head-on.

“I think everybody wants to make plays and everybody wants to contribute,” the QB explained. “I have no worry about [Brown], he’s a great player, a great teammate, a great friend, and we’ll do anything and everything to win.”

If Hurts was the lone voice of the organization he would have thrown water on the embers. Instead, the coach who has 17 years on his QB, and Brown himself, who left the locker room before reporters arrived, a period which was abnormally long after a victory, are fanning them by leaving the speculative door ajar.

The whole issue could be nothing and it might be everything but the one thing it did reveal is that the Eagles are very aware of their heightened expectations.