Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown is ‘Living in a New World’
PHILADELPHIA – Two games after A.J. Brown ran roughshod over six straight opponents, bludgeoning them with games of more than 125-yard receiving to set an NFL record, the Philadelphia Eagles splendid receiver has been somewhat smothered.
Against the Cowboys prior to the bye, he had seven catches for 66 yards. Not bad.
Against the Kansas City Chiefs last Monday night, he had one catch for eight yards. Not good. Not good by Brown’s standards, anyway.
The last time he had one catch was in Week 10 of the 2021 season when he was still with the Tennessee Titans.
Clearly, defensive coordinators are paying more attention to Brown, who remains tied for second in the NFL with the most receiving yards with CeeDee Lamb. Both had 1,013 going into Week 12, where the Eagles will host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday (4:25/CBS).
“It's the new world I’m living in,” said Brown of the attention.
The receiver said he didn’t think it has anything to do with Dallas Goedert being out for another couple of games recovering from a fractured forearm, but Brown is an emotional player who has been seen in a couple of games this season exchanging words with his good friend and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Against the Chiefs, Hurts and Brown weren’t on the same page and that led to Hurts’ ninth interception of the season. Brown and Hurts were discussing it on the sideline afterward.
Philadelphia Eagles A.J. Brown talks about "living in a new world" and adjusting to double teams and bracket coverages.
Ed Kracz/SI Eagles Today
On Friday, Brown said the pick was his fault.
“I did beat my guy, but in that situation, I didn’t see a blitz zero and that route I can’t change,” he said. “I have to keep my route. That’s what really happened. It’s an unwritten rule, when you really beat a guy, you put your hand up, like a mailbox.
“A little light went off in my head, I’m like, ‘Hey, he’s not even paying attention to me, like I can run by him.’ That’s what I was doing. Jalen was hot and had to reset his feet to throw the ball. That was on me.”
Brown had green grass ahead of him, so he turned upfield. Hurts, though, was under pressure and threw it where Brown was supposed to be.
It will be interesting to see how he handles double teams and bracket coverage against the Bills, and as the season spills into December and beyond.
“I think I can just control what I can control,” he said. “Come to work and try to get better and focus on my details, my routes, my assignment, but I can’t really think about that type of stuff. That’s a coaching thing. I can’t do nothing about that.
“But whenever my number’s called, I have to make the most of it. My opportunities are being limited because of it, but I’m not complaining. I’m very grateful and I’m very flexible in this situation. It’s a respect thing, too. I just have to stay locked in and make the most of every opportunity.”
The good thing about a defense taking away Brown is that DeVonte Smith can do his share of damage like he did against Kansas City.
“I’m all about winning,” said Brown. “If I get it, cool. If DeVonta gets it, cool. If Dallas gets it, cool. If Quez (Watkins, who is still on injured reserve) gets it, it doesn’t matter. Like I said after the game, he was the MVP of that game. He made some crucial plays all night.”
