Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown has not been thrilled with his declining production throughout the second half of the season, but he is assuring everyone that his frustration has nothing to do with head coach Nick Sirianni.
“I have nothing but respect for him because not all coaches do that,” Brown said of Sirianni, via Eliot Shorr-Parks of WIP. “We ride with him, we ride with [offensive coordinator] Brian Johnson]. We’ve just got to come out and play ball.”
Brown, who did not speak to the media following his team’s Week 17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, said the reason for his absence was because he “didn’t want to be negative” and that his on-field displeasure “wasn’t about the playcalling.” He said it was because of the ankle sprain that fellow wide out DeVonta Smith suffered during the loss.
The 26-year-old said that the Eagles’ struggles are the players’ faults, saying “the coaches have played zero snaps this year.” He added that Sirianni “takes up for us when it has nothing to do with him.”
Since his torrid six-game stretch when Brown racked up six straight contests of 125 receiving yards or more between Weeks 3 and 8, the star receiver has been fairly quiet. He has logged just one 100-yard performance since then, which came in Week 11. Not only that, but Brown has not scored a touchdown the last five games and has not reached the end zone in seven of his last seven outings overall.
Through 16 games this season, Brown has hauled in 105 receptions for 1,447 yards and seven touchdowns, so it’s not like he hasn’t been producing. The problem is that Brown’s production has been incredibly frontloaded. Most recently, he recorded four catches for 53 yards against the Cardinals.
Brown is in his second season with Philadelphia after coming over in a trade with the Tennessee Titans in April 2022. During his debut campaign in Philly, the star receiver caught 88 passes for 1,496 yards and 11 scores en route to his second Pro Bowl appearance.
The Eagles were 10-1 at one point, but they have lost four of their last five games to fall to 11-5 on the season. To make matters worse, they have fallen out of first place in the NFC East. If the Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders this Sunday, the Cowboys will capture the division crown.
Meanwhile, A.J. Brown and Co. will battle the New York Giants for the second time in three weeks.
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