Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown spoke to reporters for more than 13 minutes on Wednesday after not talking to the media following the team’s 35–31 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17.
The Eagles’ loss on Sunday marked Philadelphia’s fourth in the month of December and eliminated the team from the race for the top seed in the NFC. Philadelphia also no longer controls its own destiny to win the NFC East.
With the recent struggles and claims of instability in the Eagles’ locker room, Brown elected not to talk to reporters because he didn’t want to be “negative” and continue adding fuel to the rough stint the franchise endured in December.
“I was raised if I had nothing nice to say, I’m not gonna say anything,” Brown said. “… Everything I do or say, I’m classified as a monster when it’s the opposite.”
Matt Slocum/AP
Instead of continuing the negative narrative, Brown put a motivating spin to his comments, saying that the Eagles are going to turn things around heading into the postseason and defended coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, despite the team’s ambiguous play-calling late in the contest.
“We’re [Eagles] right there,” Brown said. “All this freaking adversity? That’s what happens when you tryna get to the next step. Gravity pulls against you, everything pulls against you. And I think we’re gonna fight through it, push through it, and be fine. We got the right people in this locker room.”
“We ride with Nick. We ride with Brian,” he added.
A.J. Brown on why he didn't speak to the media lately pic.twitter.com/03C1JUlQ4a
— Chris Franklin (@cfranklinnews) January 3, 2024
AJ Brown: “We’re right there. All this freaking adversity? We’re right there. That’s what happens when you tryna get to the next step. Gravity pulls against you, everything pulls against you. And I think we’re gonna fight through it, push through it, and be fine. We got the right… pic.twitter.com/c62mWM15Bn
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) January 3, 2024
The Eagles (11–5) can earn the No. 2 seed if they defeat the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys lose to the Washington Commanders in Week 18.
