The Biggest Question Of The Week Is Did AJ Brown Quit On This Route After Spending All Week Throwing A Fit About Not Getting The Ball
Mitchell Leff. Getty Images.We're often too quick to judge wide receivers as being "divas", primarily due to the fact that so many of them have been divas before. But there's a world where AJ Brown can complain about the Eagles' lack of efficiency in the passing game, and it's not actually just sour grapes. Where he truly cares about the success of the team as a whole, and wants the entire offense to be as prolific as possible. He's not just trying to cause a distraction because he's frustrated at a personal level. He's calling to attention that the Eagles need to change what they're doing on offense in order to be the best version of the Eagles that they can be.
And then a moment like this happens…
Now here's the question--did Jalen Hurts just miss AJ Brown on this pass? Or did AJ Brown slow down and give up on this route once he thought he wasn't going to be getting the ball? Because if you're going to complain about the passing game all week long because you are concerned about the entire team, then you better go out there and give it everything you've got on every route. If you're just complaining because you're personally frustrated and feeling moody, then it would make sense that you would slow up here because you didn't want to give all your effort on a play which you didn't think you'd be getting the ball.
AJ Brown got what he wanted out of publicly complaining about the passing offense this week. The entire game plan looked to be catered around throwing the ball. He had 8 targets, DeVonta had 10 targets, they threw the ball 38 times. Meanwhile, Saquon only had 6 carries the entire game. Not that the running game has been anything to be excited about this season or anything. But there are times when Saquon has 6 carries during a single series, let alone the whole game. He got the offense to focus on throwing the ball, and then he picked the absolute worst moment to half ass a route that could have easily ended up in the end zone.
It's one loss, and fortunately the Eagles have a quick turnaround to get over this one on Thursday night. But if things start to go south from here, that play could end up being the smoking gun.