AJ Brown is reminded of the extent of his influence - NBC Sports Philadelphia

AJ Brown sometimes forgets how much of an impact he has, but the superstar receiver got a reminder this week.

After a FOX camera caught him reading “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy during the Wild Card win over the Packers, the book became an overnight success and quickly became the best-selling book on Amazon.

“Personally, I’m very humble,” Brown said. “Sometimes I forget who I am because I know how big things can be blown out of proportion. Because for me, I’m just being myself. I’m not trying to cause distraction or anything like that. But hats off to Jim. I spoke to him. He’s a great guy and the book is great. Everyone who bought the book should definitely check it out.”

While there were many positive reactions to Brown reading a book on the side, there were also some negative ones. On his weekly radio hit on 94WIP, head coach Nick Sirianni said it would be “lazy” for some to jump to conclusions about Brown’s reasons for reading on the sidelines.

Brown said he did it to calm down during the game. He read this particular book on the side for most of the season.

“I’m going to continue to be myself,” Brown said. “I’m not pretending, it’s not a facade or anything. Who cares if someone doesn’t like it? I’m a three-time All-Pro. Yeah, I’m going to bust my ass. That’s exactly it. I do this for myself. I don’t care what nobody likes. I am not a distraction. Most importantly, I go out and do my job. So everyone else – just doesn’t matter.”

Despite only playing in 13 games that season, Brown still had 67 catches for 1,079 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was named second-team All-Pro for the second consecutive year despite being left out for the Pro Bowl.

Ready for the snow

Some snow is forecast for Sunday at Linc and the Eagles are prepared for it.

“I know our guys are tough, I know our guys are physical,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Depending on what the snow is like, you do different things in a snow game, just like you do different things in a rain game, just like you do different things in a wind game. And that’s why I know our guys will overcome the elements, no matter what they are this weekend.”

The Eagles have seen a lot at Lincoln Financial Field over the last two weeks, and not just on Sundays. With the number 2 seed and a win in the wild card round, the Eagles secured the two real hosts of at least two playoff games in their stadium in this run.

And since the temperatures in Philadelphia have been very frigid lately, they have also been practicing in the stadium for the past two weeks.

“The field is frozen outside,” head coach Nick Sirianni said last week. “We tried to be outside as much as possible. We play outside, so unless it’s pouring rain or the wind is completely out of control, we go outside. We can’t go out to our facility today because the pitch is frozen, so we’re going over to the stadium.”

The Eagles got a taste of snow this week.

Protect the brotherly push

Against the Packers in the fourth quarter, the Eagles lined up for a tush push on 3rd-and-1 from their own 49-yard line and took a shot. Instead of keeping it, Jalen Hurts threw a deep pass to AJ Brown that fell incomplete. Brown faced his defender, but the pass went just wide.

In a game with a predominantly conservative schedule, this was an aggressive decision.

“It was a game we had been involved in for a few weeks,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “We tried to find the right opportunity to showcase it. Obviously we feel really good about the sneak, and it was a 3rd-and-1 that gave us a chance to be aggressive with the 4th-and-1 in the pocket. I risked it. Obviously it’s an aggressive call. We were close, but it didn’t happen. We’ll see what happens next.”

After the incompletion, the Eagles actually executed the tush push, moving the chains on fourth down.

Even if the throwing game didn’t work, it might still have served its purpose. Because the tush push (or brotherly shove) is one of the Eagles’ most effective plays. And every wrinkle they pull from it helps protect the game. If recording this play creates doubt in the minds of defenders and slows them down by a millisecond when firing the ball the next time the Eagles line up in this formation, then it will all be worth it.

“The things you capture on tape always have value in forcing you to think about what was done and what could be done,” Moore said. “So we tried it. I thought it was worth it and we were able to get a taste of the next piece.”

A memory of Goedert

Tight end Dallas Goedert was limited to just 10 games in the regular season this year, but had a strong performance in the wild-card round win. He had 4 catches for 47 yards, including a furious 24-yard catch-and-run touchdown with a couple of stiff arms along the way.

Goedert said his favorite reaction to the touchdown came from rookie edge rusher Jalyx Hunt.

“He came up to me and cheered me up a little bit,” said Goedert. “It always makes you feel good. He has done an excellent job with his expanded role. That was pretty cool.”

Not only did Goedert have some great plays through the air, but he also had a really good game as a run blocker. Goedert said it was one of his best blocking performances in recent years.

Goedert is in his seventh NFL season. And when he’s healthy, there aren’t many better dual-threat tight ends in the league – but he has missed a lot of time.

“Other people’s opinions don’t worry me much,” Goedert said. “I think the people in this building know what I’m capable of and what I bring to the table every time. Leave it to others, but I have complete confidence in myself and everyone on the team also has complete confidence in me. But it’s important to go out there and keep reminding people.”

A swing-and-miss of free agency

It’s been a disappointing season for free agent signing Bryce Huff, and if you were hoping he’d contribute in the playoffs, that’s not looking good either.

Huff only played one defensive snap against the Packers. The Eagles went with their three-man edge rusher rotation with Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat and Jalyx Hunt.

“We had a good three-man rotation with the other guys,” Fangio said. “And we just stuck with it.”

It was a prediction in March when the Eagles signed Huff to a three-year, $51.1 million contract. Huff was coming off a 10-sack season and his advanced stats over the last two seasons were truly impressive. But the Eagles projected him as the starter and it became clear pretty early on that he wasn’t ready for that role. He became a rotation player, but then injured his wrist and required surgery. He’s returned, but now that the Eagles are in the playoffs, he’s an afterthought.

Looking ahead to next year, cutting Huff before June 1 would leave $29 million in dead money, according to OverTheCap, and even a trade would leave $12.9 million in dead money. That trade number becomes a little more palatable after June 1, but the Eagles could stick with him in 2025.

AJ Brown is reminded of the extent of his influence – NBC Sports Philadelphia

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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