A.J. Brown tries to clear things up about meeting with Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley
Brown avoided the topic Thursday, but he followed up with a post on X Friday. “I said ‘I don’t recall’ because it got painted like there was tension and [Barkley] had to step in. That's not true."
A.J. Brown had a wry smile on his face inside the Eagles’ locker room at MetLife Stadium late Thursday when he answered four questions about the conversation he had with Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley with a version of: “I do not recall.”
It was Brown being Brown. He wouldn’t confirm or deny a meeting he had Monday with his quarterback and running back that a source told The Inquirer lasted about an hour a day after the Eagles’ offense sputtered and was shut out after the opening drive of the second half in a 21-17 loss to Denver.
Four days later, the offense failed to score in the second half. The Eagles were scoreless over the final 36 minutes, 56 seconds of the game. The passing offense, which Brown wants to perform at a higher level, again showed flashes but faded.
Brown was avoiding the topic Thursday night, but he followed up with a post on social media Friday morning that sought to clear things up. “That wasn’t a meeting or a sit-down,” read a message on Brown’s verified X account. “I said ‘I don’t recall’ because it got painted like there was tension and [Barkley] had to step in. That’s not true. I was walking to my car, saw them, and stopped to talk. Nothing more.”
Brown left the Eagles locker room and walked past reporters before getting into his car after practice Tuesday before the room opened for the only pregame media availability of the week.
Barkley and Hurts both talked with reporters later Tuesday and confirmed they had a conversation. Hurts called it a discussion “about how we move forward as a team so we continue to find ways to win games.” Barkley said it wasn’t a “players’ meeting” and didn’t want to talk more about it or make it seem bigger than it was.
Teammates, of course, talk to each other. But it has been a rocky couple of weeks that has featured some Brown drama — not that the passing-game hysteria from 2024 prevented the Eagles from winning a Super Bowl that rendered last year’s theatrics just minor chapters along the way.
The offensive woes this time around, though, seem more precarious. Last year, the Eagles adjusted their approach and became run-dominant after their rocky start. This year’s unit isn’t doing enough things well enough to be confident that it will be able to hang its hat on something and make fast improvements. The offensive line isn’t as dominant. They haven’t been able to run the ball well enough. Barkley darted for 31 yards on his first two carries Thursday, had another one go for 18 yards, but managed just 9 yards on his nine other carries of the night.
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They haven’t passed well enough, as Brown has been public about. He knew his social media post following the Week 4 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would cause a stir and he knew the Eagles needed to and were capable of making the adjustments needed to open the offense up and feed its star receivers. But little has changed in the offense’s ability to sustain drives for a full game.
The Eagles had a strong first half Sunday vs. Denver, but the offense may have overcorrected and asked Hurts to drop back 46 times despite having a lead at halftime and into the fourth quarter. The Eagles said they liked their matchups and opportunities to beat the Broncos through the air, but Barkley carried just once in the second half. The passing game, meanwhile, faded. Brown and Hurts failed to connect on a deep ball that led to finger-pointing from Eagles fans on what caused the misfire: Brown slowing up or Hurts’ pump? Nick Sirianni, meanwhile, credited the Broncos for dislodging Brown from his route and said the Eagles were looking for solutions and not pointing fingers.
Then Thursday happened. Brown was involved early, but not often, as the Eagles’ second-half struggles continued. They rank last in points per drive in the second half with 1.4 and are punting 53% of the time they have the ball, two unsustainable marks. On Hurts’ interception throw that stopped the Eagles’ comeback efforts in earnest, he had Brown wide open over the middle for a touchdown that, with an extra point, would have cut the deficit to three with plenty of time to go.
The offense has a lot to fix. Until then, every made-for-reality-television moment between the star receiver and Super Bowl MVP quarterback will be magnified.