A.J. Brown sets Eagles receiving record while Titans miss playoffs
The Tennessee Titans traded A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles on draft day last April for a pair of picks.
Eight months later, the verdict on the deal is clear: The Eagles won.
Brown opened Sunday's game with a 30-yard catch-and-run from Jalen Hurts on Philadelphia's first play from scrimmage against the New York Giants.
Hurts to AJ Brown on the first play of the game. All is well in Philly.
AJ Brown now holds the Eagles single season receiving record! pic.twitter.com/GvlIHPYi9l— Shane Haff (@HAFFnHAFF_TPL) January 8, 2023
The play broke Philadelphia's single-season record for receiving yards. The honor used to belong to Mike Quick (who is calling the game on radio in Philadelphia), who tallied 69 catches for 1,409 yards in 1983. Brown finished with four catches for 95 yards in Sunday's 22-16 Eagles win, putting him at 88 grabs for 1,496 yards on the season. He needed a 17th game to get there, but is now the franchise's single-season receiving champ.
Brown secured the mark on an Eagles team playing for the NFC's best record and No. 1 seed in the playoffs. He's developed as Jalen Hurts' top target during a breakout campaign for the Eagles quarterback that earned him his first Pro Bowl berth alongside some midseason MVP buzz.
The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, will watch the playoffs from home. They closed their season out on Saturday with a seventh straight loss in a 20-16 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a bitter end to a once-promising season that started at 7-3 alongside hopes of a fourth straight playoff berth.
The Titans drafted receiver Treylon Burks with the first-round pick acquired in the Brown trade, then dealt the other pick to gain additional selections. Burks had a fine but unspectacular rookie season while tallying 33 catches for 444 yards and a touchdown in 11 games.
The Titans lacked a playmaker in the passing game as Robert Woods led the team in receiving with 527 yards. Sure, losing quarterback Ryan Tannehill to injury was a big blow on a team that scrambled at the position down the stretch. But for a team that was presumably building to win now, the Brown trade remains a head-scratcher at season's end.
