Why A.J. Brown downplayed 'sideline discussion,' embraces 'uncomfortable conversations' and is waiting for rain to pour

A.J. Brown’s apparent sideline eruption barely registered on his personal Richter scale. He was animated with Jalen Hurts in the second half of the Eagles’ win last week, and he grew so emotional that he decided to leave the locker room in haste after the game so he could wait to address the conversation publicly upon clearing his mind. 

But Brown insists it was neither a concern nor particularly abnormal.

When Nick Sirianni was asked about the situation earlier this week, he called it a 2 out of 10 for quarterback-wide receiver sideline discourse. Even Brown thought that rating was a stretch.

“I’d say that was about half of 1,” Brown said. “But it just looked like that because it was on TV and we were using our hands and stuff. And I think (Sirianni) kind of made it worse when he came in and tried to get in the middle of it.”

Brown’s label for what happened: a “sideline discussion” — an emotional one, sure, but not one that caused lingering angst between the two close friends and certainly not one that should prompt concern in the fan base. 

“That doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world, that doesn’t mean I’m beefing with Jalen,” Brown said. “Also, I want y’all to know, no, it was not about targets. I’m sure everybody thought that because he threw me the ball three plays in a row afterwards. But no, it was not over there discussing targets or whatever the case might be. It was something that happened earlier.”

The targets were also an assumption because it’s a topic that is not going away this season — for good reason. With Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles have three players who could reasonably command the highest volume of targets. Each player is in the prime of his career. When Goedert was held without a catch in Week 1, it was a storyline. Same thing with DeVonta Smith in Week 1 last season. Brown is one of the elite players in the NFL and should expect to be a focal point of the offense each week. And this does not even take into account those games like last Thursday when the Eagles lean on a run-heavy offense and there are fewer pass attempts to distribute.

This is a problem the franchise would gladly take, considering they once had to split targets between Travis Fulgham, Jalen Reagor and Greg Ward. But it’s one that cannot be dismissed.

“There have been times when you call a game and you expect the guy to have 12 or 15 catches and they come out with four, and then there have been times you didn’t think a guy would double and not get the ball very much and he ends up with 12 catches,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said. “That’s the natural ebbs and flows of the game. Generally, that’s why you have the law of averages. It’ll even out once you get the proper sample size.”

Johnson’s point has merit. When scrutinized on a game-by-game basis, there might be a player who has an outsized role and another who has a minimized role. By the end of the season, the Eagles — and the pass-catchers — should hope that the numbers are in line with season projections. Pay close attention on Monday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“You want my honest answer? It’s about who gets hot and who stays hot,” Brown said about how they manage it each week. “That’s who we feed off. To be honest, we’re selfless guys. We love each other. Like last week, I was so excited (Smith) was out there balling, he had a Randy Moss moment, type of game. You can’t really worry about it. Whenever you get your opportunity, you got to make the most of it.  I’m surrounded by a lot of good players. And whenever I get my opportunity, I’ve got to cash in on that opportunity because someone else could get hot really quick. …When it rains, it pours. When it starts coming, look out. That’s my mindset.”

Smith played at Alabama with first-round picks in his receiving corps every season and has become used to this type of discussion. He acknowledged it’s easier to accept when you’re the one getting the ball and not the one who’s sacrificing production, but he also prefers it to the alternative of being the only player for defenses to focus on each week. Smith explained that college experience “molded me into where I am now,” and he knows he can wait for his turn.

Through two games, Brown leads the Eagles with 16 targets, Smith has 15 targets, and Goedert has eight targets. This pales compared to other top receivers like Justin Jefferson (25 targets), Tyreek Hill (24 targets) and Stefon Diggs (20 targets). 

The problem is that the passing game has been out of sync, ranked No. 29 in the NFL with 162.5 yards per game. Opposing defenses have tried to limit the Eagles’ explosive plays by forcing more passes underneath — Smith still beat Minnesota for two deep balls last week — and penalties have also taken big plays by Brown off board. The passing game is equipped to be one of the best in the NFL, so more volume will make this a nonissue. 

“You look back at the first two games, you look at the total yards of offense that we had,” Hurts said. “First game I don’t know how much we had, but I know we had maybe 450 last week. That’s pretty on par for what we’ve been able to do offensively. So when you think about how it gets done, that’s what everybody else wants to talk about. 

“What I’m telling you is it’s not about me; it’s about us. So if they are doing something there for me, we got 250 yards of rushing to do that. There are multiple ways to win. The thing I want to make clear is, when did winning not become the main thing? I always say, ‘keep the main thing the main thing’ where winning is the only thing that truly matters.”

Hurts has a point, although how the Eagles play also matters. He’s not paid to be a franchise quarterback so he could direct the 29th-ranked passing offense, and the Eagles didn’t exhaust multiple first-round picks to have Brown and Smith so they could block more than catch. The Eagles need to have a high-powered attack. For evidence, consider the last time they played Tampa Bay. It was the opening-round playoff game in January 2022, and the Eagles reached as far as they could with a run-centric offense. They knew upon arriving home that they needed to upgrade their passing game, which brought the acquisition of Brown and further development from Hurts. 

That led to both Brown and Smith topping 1,000 yards last season — and Goedert was on his way to approaching that plateau before an injury. Brown set the Eagles’ single-season record for receiving yards while Smith set the mark for receptions by a wide receiver. And there was reason to believe the numbers could be even better this season, considering the Eagles were expected to have a superior passing offense. They had double-digit halftime leads in 11 games last season, and had 13 games with five or fewer pass attempts in the fourth quarter. This year’s schedule appeared more daunting, which also suggested there would be more games when the Eagles would not spend the fourth quarter running the clock. With the way the passing game looked in training camp, it was reasonable to expect a passing offense that looked considerably better through eight quarters than what the Eagles have produced.

Brown did not offer details about what his sideline discussion with Hurts was about, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing when there’s a passionate conversation between receiver and quarterback during a game when the passing offense is sputtering. 

“We’re trying to be great,” Brown said. “We’re pushing each other. So we might have uncomfortable conversations, no matter if it’s in practice or in a game. Those conversations happen.”

During lunch on Thursday, Smith approached Brown with a piece of scripture he was sent that he found particularly meaningful and relevant for his teammate.

“Read it to them!” Brown said, with reporters surrounding his locker.

“Do not judge others and you will not be judged,” Smith read. “For you will be treated as you treated others. The standard you use in judgment is the standard by which you are judged.”

The moment also was illustrative of the growing relationship between the Eagles’ top two receivers. Earlier in the day, when Sirianni discussed the pair, it was that friendship that stood out to him. They’re different types of players with different personalities, yet they’re often linked as a tandem. Both were voted first-time captains this season.

“They’re sitting right next to each other,” Sirianni said. “To be able to say, ‘hey, why did you do that right there, DeVonta?’ ‘Why did you do this right there, A.J.?’ And they’re able to get each other better because they’re not only watching each other do it, but they also can sit there and talk about it. I really like their relationship. I think that’s pretty special.”

It can be hard to keep a pair as good as they are together. There are only so many targets to go around. There’s only so much salary cap space to distribute. The Eagles know they have something special — Brown insisted before the season that there’s no competition between them, and it shouldn’t be framed as choosing one against the other — and they’ll try to keep them as a duo as long as they can. Smith is eligible for a contract extension after this season. Brown has four years remaining on the $100 million contract he signed last offseason.

“That’s another wide receiver 1 on the side of me,” Brown said. “Everyone in the city of Philly should appreciate both of us while you have us.”

It’s up to the Eagles to maximize them. And then the story will be about fireworks on the field rather than the sideline.