Drama brewing between Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown is much ado about nothing, Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni suggested on Tuesday.
After the Eagles won their ninth game in a row on Sunday, Brown told reporters “passing” was the reason the offense wasn’t clicking as expected in the 22-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Defensive end Brandon Graham added fuel to the fire when he shared during a Monday radio appearance he doesn’t believe Hurts and Brown are as close as they had been in the past.
“I know that [Hurts] is trying and [Brown] could be a little better with how he responds to things. They were friends before this, but things have changed, and I understand that because life happens,” Graham said, before attempting to reframe his position with an apology to both players for “assuming that it was something it wasn’t.”
Sirianni on Tuesday said he can only judge what he sees first-hand daily, pointing out his QB and WR1 eat lunch together, openly communicate about the game plan and pray together before games.
Sirianni said he doesn’t believe Brown was pointing a finger at Hurts with his postgame comment on Sunday.
“I didn’t take it that way,” Sirianni told 94WIP in a radio appearance on Tuesday. “You can do anything and spin it any way. I took it as we want to get better as a passing attack. A.J. is part of the passing attack. And so, we all want to be better at it.
“Jalen and A.J. are both really outstanding people and both really outstanding players. I love that our players are wanting to get better and desire to get better, and that’s what we talk about all of the time — is how we get better and be able to do things that are special.”
Brown has 836 yards and four touchdowns this season after back-to-back 1,400-yard campaigns since he was acquired from the Tennessee Titans in 2022.
The Eagles are last in the NFL in pass attempts and Brown said he’s struggling to get into a rhythm.
But given the team’s success and a winning streak spanning multiple months, Philadelphia is determined to continue feeding running back Saquon Barkley. The NFL’s leading rusher, Barkley is first in the league with 266 carries and No. 1 in yards at 1,623.
Sirianni said he understands the buzz over the exchange and Brown’s outburst on the sideline. But he denied there should be a correlation to the 1-6 finish to the 2023 season when team chemistry was a sizzling topic of conversation.
“I see a lot of 2022 vibes,” Sirianni said, pointing to his Super Bowl team that lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. “You can look at what you see in one week, but I’m looking at the big picture and, again, I see it as everybody wants to get better.”
