How A.J. Brown’s antics led to a worse performance on the field
A.J. Brown (11) of the Philadelphia Eagles walks off the field after a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
It is no secret that A.J. Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles had a different vision this season. Brown expressed a complete disinterest in the scheme that former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo had been running this past year, and it seemed to have been getting to him mentally. Brown’s effort was notably poor at times, not going after balls that he could get, and seeming to run at half speed.
Jason Kelce, who was teammates with Brown for two seasons, went into detail about what he saw out of Brown.
“He’s just unfortunately a player who allowed his internal frustrations to manifest into his play, and it makes him play worse and makes the offense worse,” Kelce said on the 94.1 WIP Morning Show on Thursday.
Kelce discussed how he felt that while Brown is heavily respected and well-liked within the Eagles locker room, there was an energy and attitude that was detrimental to himself and the team.
Fans took this quote and ran with it. Kelce, in an effort to quiet the noise, took to X/Twitter later in the day to add some more context:
This was evident all season long. Some key instances where Brown’s attitude was clear were when he avidly called the Eagles squad a “s— show” and made remarks about how much he wanted the ball. The issue with Brown wanting the ball, however, was that his production on the team was poor, even with all of his complaints. Brown, while he did reach the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yards, received the least amount of yards since he joined the Eagles in 2022.
Brown’s actions gave him this new perception as a diva, a much different perspective that Philadelphia fans used to have on the wide receiver. Back in previous years, Brown was seen as Philly’s WR1 and one of the leaders of the offense. He was looked at as a strong, hardworking leader who, while occasionally seeing differences with himself and Jalen Hurts, worked past them and catapulted the Eagles to Super Bowl contention and the eventual Super Bowl win. That attitude continued into the early offseason last year, where Brown quickly, after the Super Bowl, stated that he was ready for the next year, and didn’t want to think about the ring anymore.
Now, Brown’s attitude not only hurt himself, but it also hurt the team around him, too. As Philadelphia became the spotlight of drama in the media world, the team’s chemistry began to take a hit. Philadelphia, which started the season hot with an 8-2 record, had finally had enough of Brown bickering for more touches and made a change. Hurts began targeting Brown more often, and he was able to haul in over 100 yards in each of the next 3 games. The problem? Philadelphia went 0-3 in those games. Clearly, Brown’s trying to become the center of attention hurt the Eagles dramatically and led to loss after loss.
Philadelphia never seemed to recover from Brown’s detrimental attitude to the team, leaving a Super Bowl-worthy roster in shambles going into the postseason. Philadelphia was obviously knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by San Francisco, highlighted by Brown’s dropped pass that would have given the Eagles a huge chance to win the game.
All season long, Brown’s actions hurt himself and the Eagles’ chances to make anything impactful happen during the season. If Philadelphia wants to compete at a higher level in 2026, fixing the Brown problem is a must, and that is not negotiable.
Evan Hartenstein
Evan has been a member of the Philly Sports Reports team since March 2023. He is covering the 76ers and wants to pursue a long-lasting career in Sports Journalism.
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