A.J. Brown finished the Eagles Wild Card game against the 49ers with three catches on seven targets for 25 total yards, and it was the misses that had the biggest impact.
Earlier in the season when the wide receiver voiced his displeasure with a lack of a passing game, he was emphatic that it wasn’t a desire to pad his stats, but rather wanting to help his team in big moments. He wanted to contribute to the wins, and to the come backs, and wanted an opportunity to maybe save them from the losses. Brown still finished the season with over 1,000 yards — his fourth consecutive time hitting the mark in Philly —, and when the lights shined brightest in Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, he failed to deliver.
During the first half, there was an Eagles drive in which Brown missed a catchable ball on first down, was banged up, came back on the field for third down and missed again. He didn’t leave the field quick enough, though, and soon he and head coach Nick Sirianni were having a heated exchange that had to be broken up by Big Dom. In the second half, Jalen Hurts targeted Brown deep again on a big third down, and it went right through the receivers hands.
When asked about the tense interaction at halftime, Sirianni scoffed at the notion that is was anything more than an emotional moment they would both move on from, but that seems unlikely with how things went post-game.
Everyone has off nights, but after making so much noise earlier in the season about wanting to be relied on in these exact moments, he fell short. Not only that, but to be slow off the field and jaw back-and-forth with Sirianni, it wasn’t a good look. And, to make matters worse, instead of standing up and answering questions and taking accountability, Brown declined to speak to reporters altogether after the game, shook hands with a few teammates, and then left. Just like that.
With no shortage of trade rumors regarding Brown during the 2025 season, there are bound to be even more in the offseason months that follow. On paper, the 28-year-old still might be regarded as one of the best receivers in the league, but there was clearly an issue this season, and it never seemed to get worked out. So, now we wait to see how this all plays out and whether one of the guys who holds many franchise records actually stays in Philly or heads elsewhere in 2026.
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