A.J. Brown felt like a ‘paid actor’ before the last Super Bowl. He’s prepared this time.

A.J. Brown’s week of interviews, appearances, and other obligations before the Eagles’ last trip to the Super Bowl made the days leading up to the game not feel like football.

“I honestly felt like a paid actor,” Brown said Sunday after the Eagles clinched their second trip in three years to football’s grand stage. “The only part that felt like real football was the game. When you remove those things and just try to focus on the game, that’s the only thing that matters. Just trying to win. Everything else is for everybody else.”

Brown will have the same obligations in New Orleans as he had two years ago in Arizona, but the wide receiver said he’s better prepared for the super hype this time for the rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs. He said the key is “removing feelings, removing excitement.”

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“You try not to focus on it,” Brown said. “It’s something that you have to do. It’s not important. It’s important for everyone else to see you and hear what you have to say. But ultimately, none of that matters. You’re just trying to come out victorious.”

Brown was quiet in the team’s first two postseason games before reminding everyone on Sunday that he’s one of the league’s premier receivers. He finished with a touchdown and 96 yards on six catches, perhaps none bigger than his fourth-down grab late in the second half of the NFC championship game.

Saquon Barkley set the tone with his 60-yard TD on the team’s first offensive play and Brown quieted the Washington Commanders with his big grab over Marshon Lattimore.

Brown’s reward is a trip to the Super Bowl and days of questions.

“We’ve been there before,” Brown said. “I’m not saying I’m used to it, but we’ve been there before. If you’ve been there before, you know what it’s like. You know what’s at stake and you know how to handle it now. That’s the only thing I’m focused on. Doing things differently and doing everything in my power to get this win.”

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Brown finished the last Super Bowl with 96 yards and a TD on six catches. With his performance, he didn’t look like a guy who felt like a paid actor in the days leading up. And he looked like that player again on Sunday.

The momentum the Eagles grabbed early in Sunday’s win was beginning to fade when they faced a fourth-and-5 at Washington’s 45-yard line. Nick Sirianni kept the offense on the field with 2 minutes, 14 seconds left in the second quarter, but it seemed as if Jalen Hurts would just try to bait the Commanders into an offside penalty before the Eagles ultimately punted.

Instead, the Eagles sent Brown on a go route down the sideline. Brown sped past Lattimore and made the grab. It was a gutsy play call as the Eagles were only ahead by two and an incompletion would have given possession to the Commanders near midfield. The seeds of an eventual blowout were beginning to be planted.

“You know that’s not the first time Nick has done that,” Brown said. “Nick has trust in us. We have trust in each other to make that play.”

The Birds offense still runs through Barkley, but Brown’s return to form was important before the Super Bowl. The Eagles won’t be one-dimensional in New Orleans. Two years ago, Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for 13 catches and 196 yards in the Super Bowl loss to Kansas City.

Sunday’s win, which also included 45 yards from Smith, is enough to believe that the Eagles can do more than just run the ball when they return to the Super Bowl.

Brown celebrated with his teammates but it would have been hard to tell the Eagles won the NFC title and not an October game if he wasn’t wearing the championship hat and shirt. Brown was excellent, yet he mentioned three times a mistake he made in the third quarter that likely few even noticed. There was no gloating.

His postgame session with reporters was interrupted by a teammate holding a copy of Inner Excellence, the motivational book Brown read on the sideline during the team’s opening-round win over Green Bay. He said the book is his “recipe” and showed how he highlighted portions of it.

“Every performance, presentation, or problem you face is an opportunity to learn and grow and vividly experience each moment,” wrote author Jim Murphy in a passage highlighted and underlined by Brown. “You will find as you take this journey with me that your best moments always come from a clear mind and unburdened heart. This allows you to take the risks necessary to be everything you were created to be.”

There will be no shortage of distractions during Super Bowl week in New Orleans. The Eagles will practice just like they do in South Philadelphia and study film of the Chiefs. But almost everything else will be different. Brown already knows. He did this before. This time, he’s prepared.

“I’m just trying to keep my emotions intact, knowing that the job is not finished,” Brown said. “This is fun. I’m just so excited for the guys who haven’t been before and don’t understand this feeling. But I just want to win. We have four quarters. That’s the only thing I’m focused on.”

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