On the surface, it’s easy to understand the continued frustrations of superstar Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.
The NFL is a business, and Brown’s business is catching the football. Five games into the 2025 regular season, he’s only caught 19 passes for 194 yards and a single touchdown. He’s averaging 15 fewer yards per game than No. 2 wideout DeVonta Smith.
It’s one thing for Brown to be feeling unappreciated, vent some frustrations on social media, and state his case to reporters. We’ve been down this road before with Brown — and he’s not wrong; the Eagles won’t be able to continue their current standard of excellence without attacking the defense through the air vertically.
But entering what now feels like a bigger Thursday Night Football game against the last-place New York Giants than originally expected, Brown would be better off taking a step back for some private reflection.
While Brown’s quarterback and play caller take most of the heat for his puzzling lack of involvement in the early-season game plan, Brown hasn’t exactly helped his cause on the field — and last week’s brutal loss at home to the Denver Broncos qualifies as a boiling point.
The Philadelphia Eagles need more effort and focus from WR A.J. Brown going forward
Brown’s lack of awareness of a potential Jalen Hurts dagger dominated most of the fallout from Sunday’s loss to Denver. The Eagles led the Broncos 17-3 at the time, and the play was there for Brown to essentially put the game away late in the third quarter.
Unfortunately, Brown looked mentally checked out on that entire drive, and the Eagles wound up missing a golden opportunity.
On first down from the Eagles 44, running back Saquon Barkley appeared to have some rare running room off tackle, but the play was blown dead by Brown’s false start penalty. Hurts’ deep shot came on the very next play, with Brown slowing up at the top of his route, clearly not seeing the same thing or expecting the ball.
There were other uncharacteristic reps from Brown throughout the game, including a poor effort on the edge on a blown-up screen pass to Smith in the second quarter.
I was one of A.J. Brown’s biggest defenders last week after his social media post.
— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) October 6, 2025
Everyone has seen Brown slowing down on the deep shot already, but have you seen this?
Brown fails to block anyone on a screen pass intended for DeVonta Smith.
This lack of effort can’t happen. pic.twitter.com/WlpS3cO3dh
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At some point, Brown has to put the onus on his own shoulders. He’s seen eight-plus targets in every game since the season opener, and it would help both him and the Eagles’ offense immensely if he would lock in and start doing his talking on the field.