A.J. Brown and the Patriots vs. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles is the perfect rivalry for our hot-take age
With the former teammates and friends set to work in opposing huddles this week, let's take a look at the tale of the tape.
You know how this is going to go. The Eagles will take part in two joint practices, on Wednesday and Thursday, against the New England Patriots — and against A.J. Brown. Those workouts, plus the teams’ preseason game Saturday, will provide all the narrative jet fuel necessary to power us through the rest of the preseason and at least five weeks into the regular season.
By then, Jalen Hurts will have played a few real games in Sean Mannion’s offense, and Brown will have caught who-knows-how-many passes from Drake Maye, and we’ll have a better if incomplete gauge of each team’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs, winning its division, and reaching Super Bowl LXI. Let’s be honest, though: A lot of people who follow the NFL and root for the Eagles will pay attention to how the Patriots fare, sure, but they’ll be more interested in another comparison, another unspoken competition: Jalen vs. A.J.
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Jalen vs. A.J. is about more than football. It’s about a friendship that fell apart and that may or may not have been put back together. It’s about a partnership that contributed to a championship, to four seasons’ worth of excellent collective performance, and to a year-plus of questions and passive-aggressive behavior that culminated in the acknowledgment that it was time for one of these men to move on.
Best of all, Jalen vs. A.J. taps into one of the most visceral and familiar sensations within Philadelphia sports fandom (and, to a less intense degree, sports fandom generally). People here love to hate a villain, and Brown — whether he intended to or not, whether it’s fair that he is perceived this way or not — made himself one when he made it clear that he’d be happier playing for another team.
He’s the guy who left, who snubbed the Eagles and everyone who cheers for them. Hurts is the guy who stayed, who wanted to be here. For a lot of fans here, it won’t be enough if Hurts has a terrific season or the Eagles win more games than the Patriots. Brown must drop every pass Maye throws to him, complain incessantly about how miserable he is, and be photographed paging through a copy of The TB12 Method on the New England sideline. These two are going to be held up against each other all season.
So how will we judge who has won this soap-operatic battle? Obviously, team success and individual achievement will be the primary determining factors. And while there’s really no way to know for certain how the season will play out for either Hurts or Brown, we can look at some conditions and circumstances as they are now to make an educated guess about who will get the better of whom.
» READ MORE: Better than it looked? Four biggest film observations from the first preseason game of the Sean Mannion era
For instance …
Hurts’ head coach is Nick Sirianni, who has won a Super Bowl and sometimes has his children accompany him to his postgame news conferences. Mike Vrabel, who has lost a Super Bowl and isn’t quite as devoted a family man, will hold Brown’s hand throughout their time together with the Patriots. Advantage: Jalen.
Brown’s quarterback will be Maye, who, before his four rocky playoff games, led the NFL last season in completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating, and QBR. Hurts’ wide receivers will be DeVonta Smith and three guys named Sal. Advantage: A.J.
In fairness, Hurts can probably count on Sal 1, Sal 2, and Sal 3 to finish running all their routes. Advantage: Jalen.
The Patriots’ play-caller will be Josh McDaniels, regarded as one of the league’s most astute orchestrators of offense. The Eagles’ will be Mannion, who has never called plays in the NFL but is also not Kevin Patullo. Advantage: A.J.
Hurts still plays in Philadelphia, where he can have dinner at any number of world-class restaurants and partake of a robust cultural scene and night life. Brown now plays in Foxboro, Mass., where he can pay full price for a refill at Dunkin’. Advantage: Jalen.
» READ MORE: Sean Mannion talks Eagles’ sloppy preseason loss to Ravens, will move from sideline to coaches’ box vs. Patriots
Over his career, Brown has spent a lot of time, perhaps too much time, on Instagram and X/Twitter and paid a lot of attention, perhaps too much attention, to what has been written and said about him there. But with the Patriots, he doesn’t have to worry about the franchise’s social media team undermining his standing in the locker room by posting a video of him doing something totally humiliating and vitally important like throwing an interception in training camp. Advantage: A.J.
Welp, looks like Jalen vs. A.J. is too close to call at the moment. Which is great. More intrigue! More drama! More content! Two man enter. One man leave. There can be only one Highlander. The winner gets a free copy of Pat McAfee’s new country-rock-rap-grievance album and the satisfaction of knowing the other guy was the true source of the problems with the Eagles’ passing game all along. The loser must live with the shame of knowing he let down a desperate fan base starved for its first Super Bowl victory in a year and a half. Let our long march to the ultimate hot take begin.
Lane Johnson rejoined training camp this past week after a multi-day absence, but his return brought with it the announcement that 2026 is “probably” going to be his last NFL season. What does the prospect of the All-Pro’s retirement mean in both the short- and long-term? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Ryan Novozinsky take a look at what the Eagles can expect from Johnson in his 14th year as a pro, and who might be waiting in the wings to replace him. Listen here.
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