It was a tough night for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown as the team took a heartbreaking 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card game.
Brown had a horrendous game to put it nicely, as he caught just three of seven targets for 25 yards. He got in trouble early after a second quarter drive saw him not running full speed for a Jalen Hurts deep ball, and then dropping an easy third-down catch. That resulted in the viral moment of Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni running down the sidelines and getting into Brown's face.
What was worse was that on the final drive, with a third-and-five at their own 40-yard line, Brown had an easy completion for a first down, but he dropped it. While tight end Dallas Goedert bailed him out with a fourth-down reception for 15 yards, it was the exact way to end the night for Brown.
A.J. Brown after the game did exactly what they expected him to do
After the game, reporters were lining up in the locker room ready to talk to the disappointed players with most of them ready to face the music of their actions and roles in the loss. Brown did not.
Several Eagles reporters said that Brown declined to speak with the media as he went around the locker room, hugging his teammates, and then left. Before he left, when reporters were trying to talk to him, PHLY Eagles reporter E.J. Smith only got from him that he was “about to go.”
While fans can't blame him for wanting to get out of the building and be with his family on the toughest night of his career, it's a bad look to not stick around. Other Eagles will be there with microphones and cameras in their faces, answering questions. This may not be the best term to use, but this is borderline cowardly of Brown to bolt like that.
Everyone knows players like Saquon Barkley and Hurts are going to be there and be leaders for the team. Brown wears a "C" on his jersey, and he can't be bothered to be there when the team needs him to stick around and show strength to the media.
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It's a strongly disappointing look for Brown to do that, as it will not help with the questions coming on about whether he will even be in an Eagles uniform in 2026 or if he will find a new home.