Sep 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ. Brown (11) reacts against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
During Sunday afternoon's Philadelphia Eagles-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, A.J. Brown received nine targets. He caught two of them for a total of seven yards.
Obviously, as any three-time All-Pro wide receiver would be, Brown seems a little unhappy with that stat line.
Sunday evening following the game, Brown posted this initial message:
I Love yall with all My heart❤️🩹
Then, about an hour later, he followed it up with a screenshot of this Bible verse:
"If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way."
Although the Eagles are 4-0, new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo's offense has yet to fully click. Production is down across the board. Jalen Hurts is only averaging 152.3 passing yards per game. Saquon Barkley has 77 carries for just 237 yards. His 3.1 yards per carry are a steep drop-off from the 5.8 yards per carry he averaged in 2024.
The receiving corps as a whole are struggling mightily. DeVonta Smith leads the team with 158 yards through four games. Brown is second with 151 yards, and Dallas Goedert is third with 114.
It's not that Brown isn't seeing the ball – in fact, he currently paces the team with 28 targets – but he's registered just 14 catches. On paper, only catching half of your targets is obviously not great, but take a look at all nine of Brown's targets from Sunday:
Eagles WR A.J. Brown finished yesterday’s game with 2 catches for 7 yards on 9 targets.
Here are all 9 of his targets.
pic.twitter.com/UEp15Zqygi
Multiple passes were out of bounds and uncatchable. On the passes that were catchable, the Bucs' secondary was all over Brown.
One could argue that Brown is just struggling to get separation this year, but it's not just Brown. So far in 2025, the Eagles' receivers have consistently struggled with getting open. None of them had that issue last year.
With the abundance of skill player riches the Eagles possess, the fact that this is a team-wide problem suggests Patullo's scheme is predictable. Defenses know exactly what routes the receivers will run.
Does Brown have a right to be upset? Yes. He's a competitor, he's a top five wide receiver in the NFL, and this new offensive scheme has him running the same couple routes for the entire game. It's limiting his ability to produce and to contribute.
Brown probably shouldn't be publicly voicing his displeasure, though. As someone who called into WIP last year to shut them down, Brown knows firsthand that the media will jump on any hint of discomfort.
Well, he's given them more than a hint, he's given them a neon sign. Now the talking heads have something to talk about for the next week and beyond.
