How A.J. Brown’s Low ‘Frustration Scales With Eagles Offense, Jalen Hurts Can Rise Quickly
PHILADELPHIA − It’s possible that we’re making too much of the sideline spat between Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts over Brown’s dissatisfaction with the amount of passes thrown his way last Thursday.
After all, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni made it a point to defuse the situation by saying, “On the frustration scale of what I have seen between receivers and quarterbacks, we’re talking about a 2 out of 10.”
Sure, it’s easy to picture Sirianni as the Kevin Bacon character in “Animal House” trying to calm fleeing parade-goers by saying, “Remain calm. All is well!” while getting trampled.
And really, all is well with the Eagles − to an extent.
They’re 2-0, and an offense built around the pass has managed to plow ahead with the running game heading into their Monday night matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are also 2-0.
“We’re not in a panic mode or anything like that,” Sirianni said. “Have the pass numbers been down? Yeah. Does the defense play into that? Of course it does. Not everybody has this luxury, but fortunately for us, we’re able to win on the ground, and we are able to win in the air. So you are able to balance off what the defense does.”
Yet this isn’t the way Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie sees the “modern NFL offense” that he pictured for his team, at least not when the Eagles signed Hurts to a contract extension worth as much as $255 million, Brown as much as $100 million, and fellow receiver DeVonta Smith most likely in that range when he’s eligible for an extension after the 2024 season.
Sirianni was quick to point out that it was hard to get the ball to Brown, Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert when the Eagles had 48 rushing attempts as opposed to only 23 pass attempts against the Vikings.
But that’s also the point, and why Brown was letting Hurts and Sirianni know his feelings on the sideline.
Instead, the Eagles pounded the ball with D’Andre Swift, who had a career-high 175 yards rushing on 28 carries against the Vikings. Swift was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the first time an Eagles running back won the weekly honor since Boston Scott in 2019.
Hurts is averaging just 181.5 yards passing this season, while Brown, Smith and Goedert have just 308 yards combined this season, on pace for 2,618. Though two games last season, the trio had 446 yards and finished with 3,394 yards.
Brown, who set a franchise record with 1,496 yards receiving last season, is on pace for 918 yards.
Yes, it’s a small sample size, but small sample sizes can become larger ones.
“I think (defenses) have done a great job presenting looks that haven’t been on tape, that have been unscouted, and trying to find new ways to challenge us as an offense,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said. “Defenses were going to try to adjust to what we’re doing, and you just kind of see the evolution from ’21 to ’22 to ’23 of just how defenses, what their focal point is to try to take away from us offensively.
“Any time that you’re challenged as an offense, any time you have to figure out a way to problem solve, it can only be a positive.”
We have seen that.
In 2022, after Eagles led NFL in rushing the season before, they dared Hurts to beat them with the pass. Hurts did.
Then seeing the Eagles get to the Super Bowl behind both the run and the pass, opposing defenses decided that it’s better giving up 15-play drives as opposed to quick-strike 60-yard passes. So the Vikings often used a 3-man front and dropped as many as eight defenders into coverage.
The Eagles’ only option was to run. So they did, beginning with their 16-play touchdown drive in the second quarter, of which 13 were running plays.
How much longer will the Eagles have to deal with this?
Let’s just say that the Buccaneers will present as big, if not bigger, of a challenge than the Patriots and Vikings.
In the playoffs in Jan. 2022, Bucs coach Todd Bowles, then the defensive coordinator, held Hurts to one of his worst games as a pro. Hurts threw two interceptions and lost a fumble as the Eagles fell behind 31-0 in their 31-15 loss.
The Bucs’ defense has many of those same players. And they’re second against the run this season, allowing just 54 yards per game.
So if the Eagles are going to beat the Bucs, it might have to be through the air.
That would be music to Brown’s ears. And we have also seen, even this season, that Hurts can better handle any type of defense thrown against him.
“He has just seen so much more defense than he did at that point in 2021,” Johnson said. “Just like he’s always done, he’s continued to progress, continued to get better. That’s who he is as a person, as a player. So, he’s definitely a different player than two years ago for sure.”
Hurts’ stats might not show it yet, and Brown’s certainly don’t. That’s why for now, it’s just a sideline spot that rates a 2 on the Eagles’ proverbial Richter Scale. Sometimes, there are aftershocks, and those could be much higher.
Martin Frank:
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