Eagles WR A.J. Brown should be upset with this coach
The Philadelphia Eagles are spiraling downward, losing four of their past five. Once 10-1, they need the lowly Washington Commanders to either beat or tie the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to have a shot at winning the NFC East.
Amid this skid, no Philadelphia player has shown more visible frustration than wide receiver A.J. Brown. Through the first half of the 2023 season, Brown was in the MVP discussion after gaining at least 127 receiving yards in six straight games. Since Week 9, however, he only has one 100-yard game and has been held to an average of 63 yards over the past three games.
After Philadelphia’s latest loss, a ghastly 35-31 defeat to Arizona, rumors swirled that Brown was upset with Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson. Brown denied that on Wednesday:
“People say I’m beefing with Nick. I’m not mad at Nick, I’m not mad at nobody,” he said. “We have a great relationship. We’re riding with Nick. We’re riding with Brian. We just have to come out and play ball.”
If Brown was indeed feuding with Sirianni and Johnson, his frustration would have been misguided. The Eagles were held to 49 points during a three-game December losing streak, but they’ve scored 64 over their last two games. The offense appears to be getting back on track.
Brown does, however, have a right to be upset with another coach, defensive play-caller Matt Patricia.
Patricia was given play-calling duties ahead of Week 15, following the demotion of defensive coordinator Sean Desai. In his three games at the defensive helm, the Eagles allowed a winning drive to Seattle backup quarterback Drew Lock, struggled to keep New York Giants backup QB Tyrod Taylor at bay and allowed 29 second-half points to the lowly Cardinals (4-12).
In Week 17, the Eagles held a 21-6 halftime lead over the Cardinals, then were held scoreless in the third quarter before scoring 10 in the fourth. If an offense puts up 31 points — 21 in the first half — it’s not unreasonable for the defense to shut down an opponent for the rest of the game.
Ah, but this is a Patricia defense, one that could implode at any time.
