How Eagles' Nick Sirianni handled Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown drama ahead of win over Steelers

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts all spoke up behind the scenes last week after a potential locker room controversy involving Brown and Hurts arose. 

Following Sunday's 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers that improved the Eagles to 12-2, Philadelphia left tackle Jordan Mailata spoke with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about how Sirianni "showed the players a reel of celebrations Wednesday" and then insisted that everybody focus on beating the Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field. 

"He let us address it," Mailata said about. "Once it was done, he made sure to move on and keep the Steelers the main thing. He didn’t let it linger. We kept pushing on. And that was coach’s message. Nick did a great job of just moving on from that. And seeing him move on made us move on and keep the main thing the main thing. Like I said, it was our business this week, but it’s none of our business." 

A massive spotlight was placed on comments Brown made about Philadelphia's passing attack after the Week 14 win over the Carolina Panthers when defensive end Brandon Graham said that Brown and Hurts "were friends, but things have changed." Graham later claimed that he "made a mistake," and other players subsequently suggested that the story had been "blown out of proportion." 

Against the Steelers, Hurts and Brown connected on eight of 11 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown that was capped off with a choreographed celebration. Sirianni's words during game preparations seemingly produced the desired result for a club that endured a brutal late-season collapse last season. 

"When we get the message from [the] head coach, the captains and the leaders on this team, we have to enforce that amongst the rest of the locker room," Mailata continued. "And we all responded really, really well this week." 

As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Eagles and the 12-2 Detroit Lions tied among the betting favorites at +210 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX. Philadelphia next plays at the 9-5 Washington Commanders this Sunday. 

"For me, I don’t focus on the fans," Mailata added. "I don’t feed off the fans, to be honest. I think, for us, we’re so in tune with each other that we’re just focusing on our job. …We’re just focusing on our job and making sure that everything goes well."