Jason Kelce says A.J. Brown ‘should be upset’ and thinks the Eagles might be ‘the most scrutinized 4-0 team’ ever

Only two teams remain undefeated heading into Week 5 of the NFL season: the Eagles and the Buffalo Bills.

Although Philly stands as one of the only 4-0 teams, fans have yet to see the team play up to expectations. Each week, they’ve been just good enough to escape with a win, including in their last two games.

After an awful start in Week 3, the Eagles overcame a 19-point third-quarter deficit to cap off a 33-26 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. Last week, it was nearly the opposite. After building a 24-6 halftime lead, the Eagles allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to nearly come back, but were able to hold them off for a 31-25 win.

“The fact that we’re 4-0 and we still haven’t even had our best players involved in the offense,” said former Eagles center Jason Kelce on the latest episode of New Heights. “To me, I’m optimistic as a [expletive] right now. But, we do have to get fixed. There’s no question about that.”

» READ MORE: What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 5 vs. the Broncos

Despite the Eagles’ early success, there’s been plenty of criticism surrounding the team, from A.J. Brown’s lack of production — and cryptic tweets — to the team’s inconsistent offense. Jason and Travis Kelce discussed it all on this week’s New Heights.

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The Eagles escaped Raymond James Stadium with a win over the Bucs. They got off to a fast start that included Sydney Brown returning a blocked punt for a touchdown within the first two minutes of the game. Jalen Hurts also followed up a strong showing in the second half against the Rams with a great performance in the first half, going 15-for-16 for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and picking up another 42 yards on the ground.

The second half was a different story — Hurts finished with zero completions on eight passing attempts.

“This is the way the offense has kind of been this year,” Jason said. “They’ve had pieces where the offense has looked really good and then other pieces where it struggled. … It’s probably the most scrutinized 4-0 team that I’ve potentially ever seen.

“I get that the expectations are higher and listen, they need to fix things on offense. There’s no question about that. But, I don’t think that we should lose sight of the fact that we have a [expletive] great team in Philadelphia, that is 4-0, has beaten some really good teams, right? And we should be very happy with that. And we have to at least understand, yes, they need to get better on offense. But, the bottom line is we have a really good team in Philadelphia. We should be fired up to watch these guys play every single week. And be happy and excited about that. I know I am.”

» READ MORE: NFL power rankings roundup: Eagles hang on to top spot in Week 5 — but not everyone agrees

During Sunday’s game, A.J. Brown was targeted nine times, but had just two receptions for seven yards. After the game, the receiver left a cryptic message on social media from the gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verse 11, which reads, “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”

“A lot of people are making out about this tweet that was cryptic in some ways. I mean, it’s not really that cryptic if you really think about it,” Jason said. “I don’t think it’s unfathomable that a player of A.J. Brown’s caliber — I think that he should be upset that he is not being utilized in this offense. I think that is a normal feeling and I think that he should feel comfortable explicitly saying that to the coaches and players within that locker room. I do.

“I don’t think that’s a [expletive] move, a selfish move. A.J. knows the level of player he is and what he can do to offenses and we as an offense know. Everybody should be upset that A.J.’s not getting the ball. And I guarantee they are. They’re trying to force it to him. I just — it needs to be done in a better way.”

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni addresses A.J. Brown’s social media post, Eagles’ Tush Push variations, and more

Throughout the first four weeks, Brown has 14 receptions for 151 yards and one touchdown. Most of his productivity came during the Rams game, where he six receptions for 109 yards and his lone touchdown.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as just throw the ball to A.J. Brown more,” Jason said. “It involves everybody. Like, A.J. Brown can do better. Jalen Hurts can, I’m sure, get the ball to him more in other situations, and the coaches can do a better job of trying really hard to make the player happy and make him be a weapon. Like, we shouldn’t be just getting him the ball to make him happy. We should be getting him the ball because he’s a [expletive] baller. … It’s not about getting him the ball to make him happy, it’s about getting him the ball because to be the best offense we can be, we need to get him the ball. Same thing goes for Saquon Barkley.”

Fellow pass catcher Travis Kelce believes there could have been a better way for Brown to voice his frustrations.

“I feel like whenever I was searching for more opportunities in a game, I would just, after every single rep in practice, after every single conversation in the meeting room about a certain play, I would go up to [Patrick Mahomes] or go up to the coaches and make sure they know that I’m on the same page as them in some form or fashion,” the veteran Kansas City Chiefs tight end said. “I think that’s always a better option in my mind.”

Jason responded: “Him tweeting that out, it puts some added pressure on the Eagles coaching staff and on Jalen to make sure he gets touches in this next game. It just does.”