PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A.J. Brown’s stat line for the week included one catch, one cryptic social media post and one long explanation as to why he let his frustration with his role in the offense get him down even with the Eagles off to a 4-0 start.
It’s easy to wonder, what would his mood be like if they weren't winning?
The only numbers that really matter in sports are the win-loss record and Philadelphia couldn’t have boasted much more of a better run headed into Sunday’s game against Denver (2-2).
Counting the playoffs, the Eagles have won 10 straight games, are 20-1 overall in their last 21 games and have won 18 straight times in games started and finished by reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.
But the 4-0 start has largely been missing the blockbuster plays (well, outside of special teams ) and breathtaking runs that defined the Eagles a year ago.
Led by first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo, every key Eagles offensive player has seen a significant dip in production from last season.
Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season and set the NFL record with 2,504 total yards rushing in a season. He has rushed for only 237 yards this season -- he topped 200 yards in a game twice last season -- at a 3.1 yard-per-carry clip.
Hurts has topped 200 yards passing just once and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in either of the last two games.
DeVonta Smith has two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, yet has just 17 catches for 158 yards in four games.
Smith declined to talk to the media after the Eagles beat Tampa Bay and so did Brown after the five-time 1,000-yard receiver was held to one catch for 8 yards. Brown had six catches for 109 yards in a Week 2 win against the Rams, and has just eight receptions for 42 yards with no touchdowns in the other three games, hardly the type of production worthy of a receiver who signed an extension ahead of last season with $84 million in guaranteed money.
Brown appeared to share his unhappiness on social media.
“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way,” he wrote.
Speculation over what the post meant lit up sports talk radio lines and led to plenty of guessing on social media over what the wide receiver meant with the Biblical quote.
Turned out, not much.
Brown said this week after a buzzy 48 hours he took “full accountability” for letting his “frustrations boil over” and choosing to post instead of speak his mind on Sunday.
He added, the post didn't have anything to do with the Eagles.
“My message on Twitter was not directed at anyone in the building. Not my coaches, not my quarterback, my GM, nobody," he said. "I take full accountability. I have open communication with all my coaches and with my quarterback as well.”
Brown said he trusted his Eagles and he trusted his coaches to fix the offense before they started learning tough lessons from losses rather than winning. Brown, who set a franchise season record with 1,496 yards in 2022, said he wanted to stay with the Eagles.
“This is home. This is my home. I did it to myself," Brown said. "This is my home. I love it here, but you just see frustration because we want to be great.”
Brown’s production — and mindset — against Denver will be worth watching.
“If you look through the first four games, he’s been doing some different stuff,” Patullo said. “Sometimes the ball finds him and sometimes it doesn’t. So going into every game, you plan on making sure he’s the primary and moving around and doing stuff for him. If it doesn’t go his way, that means usually we’re on rhythm or something good’s happening and Jalen is reading it out, it’s going to other guys.”
The Broncos have kept their opponent out of the end zone twice this year and seven times since the start of the 2023 season. That’s the most in the league in that span.
On Monday night, they didn’t allow the Bengals to cross midfield after their opening field goal drive.
“That says a lot,” cornerback Patrick Surtain II said. “No matter who’s back there. I know Joe (Burrow) was out, but we always pride ourselves to make sure that we eliminate explosive plays and make it harder on the opposing offense and that’s what we did. That’s the standard that we got to keep holding ourselves to in order to win those big-time games.”
The 82 touchdowns Denver has allowed since the start of 2023 are the third-fewest among all NFL teams, behind only Kansas City (77) and Baltimore (81).
A year after leading the league with a franchise-record 65 sacks, the Broncos again lead the NFL with 15 sacks through the first month of the season.
“We definitely hold ourselves to a certain standard, hold ourselves accountable,” edge rusher Jonathon Cooper said. “It’s always a race to the quarterback for us.”
The Broncos didn’t have a 100-yard game from a running back in Sean Payton’s first 38 games in Denver. On Monday night, J.K. Dobbins ended that drought with a 101-yard performance.
“That means a lot to me. I’ve been working really hard to get that, especially for coach Payton,” Dobbins said. “I know that means a lot to him, as well. My offensive line is blocking incredibly. I can’t do it without those guys. It’s a great feeling and maybe I can go back-to-back now.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed from Denver.
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