This time a season ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were also 2-0 after a convincing victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Unlike last year, however, there is some controversy surrounding the Birds, as Jalen Hurts and wide receiver AJ Brown were caught during an exchange on the sideline. The incident was made worse by the recipient not sticking around to talk to the media after the broadcast 34-28 win over the Vikes.
Here’s the tiff, which isn’t really a thing, as evidenced by the fact that Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit don’t even acknowledge it in real time.
The reason this matters is because it’s the NFL, they’re the defending NFC champs, and there’s a quarterback and/or receiver involved. Coach Nick Sirianni downplayed the incident after the matchsaying that those conversations remain within the company.
“The conversations we have on the field will be private. And the conversations we have in our locker room will be private,” he said. You don’t need to know what was going on there.’
Hurts also did his best to minimize the drama.
“I think everyone wants to make plays and everyone wants to contribute,” the QB said of Brown. “I’m not worried about him. He is a great player, a great teammate, a great friend, and we will do everything we can to win.”
That’s top-tier player talk, and I trust new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was hesitant to move on from D’Andre Swift and a dominant run game. Hurts didn’t have to drop back much, and when he threw to Brown, the 25-yard score was negated on a holding call.
Week 1 vs. New England wasn’t perfect by last year’s standards, and way too much will be made of the Brown-Hurts stuff despite the team being 2-0 with wins Bill Belichick and an explosive crime in Minnesota on a short week, without key members of their secondary. I saw the Eagles described as “slow” because they didn’t routinely sack the Patriots. Think about that. I know it was Mac Jones, but opening week in Foxborough is still not guaranteed.
More often than not in the N.F.L, this is what winning looks like. I’m not saying the Eagles aren’t Super Bowl contenders. That’s true, but I doubt they’ll start 8-0 and beat everyone by 30 on their way to a 14-3 first-round record. goodbye, and a trip to Las Vegas.
Fans don’t have to look far for a comparison, as the Chiefs also went 14-3 last year. However, it was a very different, more up and down path to that record. They blew a game to Indy, getting overtime wins against Tennessee and Houston and losing to both of their perceived AFC challengers.
Once again, Philly could very well be the sole seed this postseason. It’s just a lot harder when you have Buffalo, Miami, Kansas City and San Francisco on the docket instead of AFC South and NFC North. There will be more upsets as a result, and (thankfully) not as many Eagles fans dancing in people’s mentions and talking relentlessly.. They will still be in your timeline, but there may also be some of that patented Brotherly pessimism.
To coach in Philly, you have to be optimistic but not delusional, firm but not condescending, and never, ever timid. These people smell blood and go berserk like piranhas in an Ernst Blofeld koi pond.
The only way to interact with Philly’s media and fans is how Sirianni does it: he’s passionate, a little defensive and honest. That goes a long way in that city, and it will work as long as they win. If they had lost, the Brown thing would have entered the news cycleand reasonable fans need to talk about it (unlike click-grabbing sports bloggers).
I can’t believe I’m not making fun of Eagles fans right now, but you don’t have to worry about this team until it’s not rugby playing its way to Ws. Let them lose a game, or go into halftime without a lead, before trying to turn a conversation between Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown into Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens 2.0.