Unapologetic A.J. Brown: Upset at Eagles offense as whole

PHILADELPHIA — Hours after video surfaced of him saying things are “a shit show” outside of his home life, Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown got to the root of his frustration.

In comments to the media at his locker Wednesday afternoon, Brown said his displeasure was with Philadelphia’s offense as a whole, not his own situation.

And he doesn’t apologize for what he said.

“It’s not just about my situation. I want to win too,” he said. “I think if we’re really focused on winning and doing our job, we can’t keep putting a Band-Aid on the defense that’s doing its job and getting us out of trouble. At what point are we going to take over on offense?

“That’s what I’m getting at. It’s not about, ‘I don’t care about winning, all I care about is the stats.’ No. We haven’t done our job on offense for weeks. You can’t keep putting band-aids on and expect to win at the end of the year thinking you’ll make it at the end of the year. It’s not going to happen.”

Brown was targeted three times in Monday’s 10-7 win over the Green Bay Packers and finished with two catches for 13 yards.

On Wednesday morning, a video surfaced showing streamer JankyRondo playing “Madden.” At one point, the player asked Brown if everything was okay.

“I mean, no,” Brown replied. “Where have you been? Family is good. Everything else isn’t. It’s a shit show.”

Asked about the video Wednesday, Brown said he was “just talking to my friend, having fun with my friend. I’m not apologizing for that. Because if you have eyes, you can see it. It’s not that I was throwing anyone under the bus. I’m literally trying to laugh through this shit.”

“It’s hard. But I try to make fun of the situation to try to get through it.”

Speaking earlier Wednesday, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he didn’t think Brown’s continued expression of his displeasure had become a distraction for the team.

“No, I don’t think so,” Sirianni said. “You can’t go from your interactions with everyone and how they go about their jobs every day that you can’t see. But no, it’s business as usual.”

Brown has 31 catches for 408 yards and three touchdowns in eight games this season. He is on pace to finish with 867 receiving yards, which would be a career low.

The defending Super Bowl champions rank 25th in the NFL in passing yards (191.7) and 12th in points per game (24.2). The third-down offense has also been a problem; they are 27th with a conversion rate of 42.4% and have scored a hat-trick on 41% of their drives, which places them 28th.

“Last year is what it was, thanks for the ring, but it’s a new season,” Brown said. “They’ve adapted, we have to adapt, and we have to continue to improve and find new ways. That’s where the frustration comes in. … I want to win, yes, and also contribute and do our job on offense as well. I think that’s fair.”

“Last year is what it was, thanks for the ring, but it’s a new season. They’ve adapted, we have to adapt and we have to continue to improve and find new ways. That’s where the frustration comes in… I want to win, yes, and contribute as well and do our job on offense as well. I think it’s fair.”

Eagles WR AJ Brown

Brown has expressed his frustration on social media several times this season, particularly after victories.

Sirianni was asked how he could reconcile his statement that it was business as usual with the receiver when his latest comments seem to contradict that.

“I’m about ready to be done answering those questions with this,” Sirianni said. “He works hard and he plays a big role in this game plan. [for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions] and he will play an important role in the game plan going forward. He works like crazy when he’s here and I’m thrilled to have him.”

Likewise, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts shut down questions about Brown after a few questions from the media on Wednesday.

“We have the Detroit Lions [this week]so I’m definitely going to put a stop to that,” he said. “The more we drive this, the more of a distraction it becomes. And I think ultimately it’s about the group.”

The Eagles leaned conservative Monday night, especially on third-and-long plays in what turned into a defensive contest with the Packers. Brown was targeted just twice in the first 59 minutes of the game before Hurts threw him a deep pass on fourth-and-6 from the Packers 35-yard line that fell incomplete. That gave Green Bay a chance to tie, but Brandon McManus’ 64-yard attempt was wide of the mark and Philadelphia held on to improve to 7-2.

“If you look at how the game went, there were a lot of plays that went [Brown] but for different reasons this is not the case,” Sirianni said. “For example, [DeVonta Smith]it’s the touchdown, this play goes to AJ; they took it away, and [Hurts] I threw it over. You can’t look at the statistics and just say that’s what’s happening. You can’t paint the picture that way.

“AJ Brown is one of the best receivers in the NFL, so of course we try to get him into the game every time.”