Nick Sirianni defends Eagles’ star, ‘I’m just really proud of how he’s handled a slow start…’

AJ Brown’s quiet start to the 2025 season led to a dominant Week 3 performance, and Nick Sirianni credited the star WR

AJ Brown has been heavily criticized early in the 2025 season, after a slow start to the year for the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver.

Brown had just one catch in the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, and many were pinpointing his route running and speed as potential concerns.

The Eagles star was a little more involved in Week 2, but still only caught five passes for 27 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs. In Week 3, that all changed.

Philadelphia had just 34 yards of total offense against the LA Rams, and frustrations were bubbling over with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and his playcalling.

Finally, Jalen Hurts connected with Brown on a ball thrown down the right sideline, with the team trailing 26-7. Up until that point, the Eagles hadn’t had a single spark offensively in the game.

That drive resulted in a touchdown to Dallas Goedert, and the Eagles were finally starting to find their rhythm. Brown caught the following touchdown himself and then led from the front on the drive that won them the game.

AJ Brown caught two passes and gained significant yards after the catch on the drive that culminated in DeVonta Smith’s go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. Brown was battling to drive the Eagles down the field to set up the touchdown from Jalen Hurts, and the offense capitalized.

The receiver ended the game with six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, averaging 18.2 yards per catch on the day.

Head coach Nick Sirianni was asked about Brown’s resurgent performance after a quiet start to the season, and gave a well-thought-out, emotional response:

“Obviously, he wants the football. Obviously, he needs to get the football. To do the things that we want to do, he’s got to have the season that he’s had the last couple years, the last three years, when he has been second-team All-Pro and went over a thousand yards every time. That’s the nature of the position.”

“We don’t have to live to what anybody else thinks except for what our standard is. I always respect your guys’ questions, but obviously, he got asked a lot of questions this week where I’ve seen a lot of guys go a different way in that and he handled every one of them that I saw with just so much grace, with so much maturity.”

Sirianni continued: “I’m just really proud of how he’s handled a slow start as far as stat-wise, but he’s doing the right things without it in his hands to help us find ways to win football games, and today we needed it with the ball in his hands.”

AJ Brown believes the offense can be more aggressive and should let their playmakers make plays

After a dominant performance in the second half against the LA Rams, AJ Brown spoke with the media.

It was clear that he was relieved to be more involved in the offense, but he appeared to be sending a message to offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo on his playcalling.

Fans have pointed out that Patullo, who was the pass game coordinator in Philadelphia last season, seems to shy away from throwing the football downfield.

Jalen Hurts was seen having a serious conversation with the OC on the sidelines during the game, and it was clear the players were frustrated with how the game plan was progressing.

Now that AJ Brown has proven his value this season, perhaps that game plan will be adjusted in the coming weeks.