Emotions were riding high for not only the Philadelphia Eagles fan base, but on the sidelines of the team as well after a rough 23-19 season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card game.
In the second quarter, the FOX cameras caught Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni running down the sidelines, yelling at wide receiver A.J. Brown to "get off the field," and then got in his face after Brown had a dropped pass and a lack of effort on the first deep ball pass from Jalen Hurts. Despite Sirianni trying to play it off as just "emotions running high" in a game, FOX's halftime report made it clear no one was really buying it.
After the loss, Sirianni was asked about it again and had to explain himself. He once again tried to play it down, explaining his love and respect for Brown.
"I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt, and that was really it," Sirianni said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him. I have a special relationship with him. We’ve probably [gone] through every emotion you can possibly have together. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, we’ve yelled at each other. We’re both emotional. I was trying to get him off the field, and that happens in this game. That happens in this game, but I love him."
Frustrations have built up to this moment with Nick Sirianni and A.J. Brown
Eagles fans have grown tired of Brown, and while there is a lot of love and appreciation for what he has done for the franchise since 2022, this season was emotionally draining for everyone dealing with him. From the cryptic tweets to calling the Eagles an "s-show" to now not even talking to the media after the loss, he just seemed to have hit a breaking point with everyone, including Sirianni.
To Sirianni's credit, he has continued to defend Brown all season, never changing his message that he loves him. The cameras finally caught a moment with Sirianni that showed anything but love there, but just a boiling point of frustration coming out in a series of bad plays.
It's fair to criticize Brown in what was arguably one of the worst games for him in an Eagles uniform. He had two very bad drops in the contest and only had 25 yards on three catches with seven targets to him.
Read more: Nick Sirianni dropped the Kevin Patullo answer Eagles fans were waiting to hear
This has only opened up a can of worms about whether Brown is going to be back with the Eagles in 2026, or if that might have been the end. Who knows how Sirianni truly feels, but the weight and pressure of the drama that came with Brown in 2025 surely must be good to be done with, as it was a lot on everyone.