PHILADELPHIA — All week long, rumor talk radio and newspaper novelists tried bravely to script a soap opera in the Eagles’ locker room, trying to pick through the packaged denials surrounding the story of the season, Jalen vs. A.J.
To no avail, of course.
While it seemed certain that A.J. Brown’s latest irritation at not being noticed enough by his quarterback was going to be successfully downplayed by Brown, Jalen Hurts and essentially every Eagle except one idle injured veteran trash talker (hint: B.G.), it was still going to take a superlative effort on the field to immediately rid the team of that seasonal subplot.
And that’s exactly what happened Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, as the Eagles recovered from a scare of a six-point win over the Carolina Panthers and promptly dispatched the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-13.
“We were all just on the same page, just making plays,” Brown said afterward. “Still some stuff that we can clean up and get better here, but everybody was definitely moving in the right direction.”
Going there together, too. But in the afterglow of one of his better performances of the season, which included one celebration with Hurts after the two had connected for a scoring pass, Brown wasn’t going to deny that there was something to all those questions during the week.
“For sure,” he said of his celebration with Hurts, “that was our moment to tell everybody to shut up.”
As for how he’d spent a week of talk about a rift with his quarterback, Brown added, “What was it like? It was very uncomfortable. First of all, I didn’t call anybody out, but behind closed doors we talked about that, we called each other out. That’s very uncomfortable.”
And apparently, well worth it.
“Absolutely, I said it for a reason,” Brown said. “… It wasn’t for me to get the ball, it was for all of us to get on the same page and put our best foot forward. We know what we’re capable of doing and last week wasn’t to our standard.
“It was crazy though, I kind of got crucified for it. But it was cool. It is cool.”
Or, to put it another way…
“Everyone in the media in Philly can take a deep breath,” Saquon Barkley said, “and we can get ready for Washington.”
Mind you, Barkley said this after his first sub-100-yard rushing game since Nov. 10 in Dallas, a blowout of the Cowboys that only required 14 carries from the league’s best running back. It was only his second sub-100 game over the last nine, and that wasn’t only because Hurts might have had more than one reason to show that his passing game isn’t on the decline.
Barkley was limited to 19 carries, his fewest since that Dallas game, and it wasn’t necessarily part of the plan. Rather, Barkley admitted to “a little minor thing” that was impeding him. Not exactly anything to worry about, though.
“I’m not going to get too much into that,” he said of the apparent ailment, “but the guys stepped up big. Kenny (Gainwell) came up and made some big plays for us, and at the end of the day I was able to tough it out and try to go out there and make plays. I didn’t have the flash I usually have but I tried to go out there and grind it out for my team.”
The effort was appreciated, especially facing a Steelers defense ranked No. 4 against the rush coming into the game. But Hurts and Brown had rumors of a snit to squash, so the Eagles quarterback came out firing, often in the direction of No. 11.
Coming off three straight games of less than 200 passing yards, Hurts threw 32 times against the Steelers, completing 25 of them. That was good for 290 yards and two touchdowns, and he added a tush-push score to cap off his day.
Brown, targeted only four times last Sunday against the Panthers, had eight catches off 11 targets, good for 110 yards and a touchdown. Fellow receiver DeVonta Smith wound up with 11 catches off a dozen targets, for 109 yards and a score.
There weren’t going to be any raised eyebrows after this game by either players or questioners.
“Everyone knows what this team is capable of doing, and finally we showed it,” Barkley said. “If a team does figure out how to slow down the run, we’re more than capable of passing. And if a team wants to stop the pass, we’re more than capable of running. That’s the beauty of the team that we have.
“We do what we have to do to win football games. Today we did it in a different way.”
The Steelers had won seven of eight, roaring to the top of the AFC North at 10-3. They were also trying to break a 10-game schneid in Philadelphia, dating to Oct. 24, 1965 at Franklin Field. Just a few seasons ago.
Of course, there’s been in-house squabbles between players of one sort or another just about every season since.
For this year’s respective Commonwealth crews, it has seemed the sky’s the limit. Now, it can be presumed only the Eagles have kept in lock step with the very best teams the league has to offer as the playoffs approach.
And if it seems the Buffalo Bills are actually the team to beat these days, hey, it’ll take a Super Bowl to prove it.
Contact Rob Parent at rparent@delcotimes.com
Source: Berkshire mont