Why AJ Brown loves Phillies postseason run, Bryson Stott’s slam over Eagles home atmosphere

PHILADELPHIA − A.J. Brown once had major league baseball dreams as a center fielder drafted in the 19th round by the San Diego Padres.

Don't scoff at the draft spot. Brown would have gone much higher had he not made it clear that he was going to college to play football. Brown doesn't have any regrets as he's become one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, in the midst of a four-year contract worth as much as $100 million.

Brown set an Eagles' franchise record for receiving yards in a season with 1,496 in his first season with them in 2022. And he has a chance to become just the sixth Eagles receiver since 1970 to have three straight games of 100 or more yards receiving after getting 175 yards last Sunday against Washington and 131 the week before against Tampa Bay.

Still, baseball is Brown's first love, and he often becomes wistful during the postseason, wondering how successful he would've been patrolling center field at, say, Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies and Braves play Game 1 in the NLDS in Atlanta on Saturday night.

Brown saw the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park during the Phillies' two-game sweep of the Miami Marlins in the NL Wild Card Series, and he posted on X: "I would love to play in a game like this. The crowd is on (fire emoji)." Then he added "#RedOctober."

Was it ever on fire. Especially after Bryson Stott's grand slam in the sixth inning of Game 2 that gave the Phillies a 7-0 lead in their 7-1 victory.

And no offense to Eagles fans at Lincoln Financial Field, but Brown said that it's a different kind of loud during Phillies homes games.

"That was crazy," Brown said about Stott's grand slam. "Everybody was singing his walkup song. He goes out and hits a grand slam. It was electric. I would love to play in the Bank, even in center field, even if I was the opposing team. Just to see the atmosphere. It was crazy.

"(The atmosphere) is just different in baseball. Everybody is on their toes, every pitch, and you can change the game with one swing. If we're running with the ball, we may hear some cheers; we may not. It’s different.

"Sometimes with a big play (in football), everybody goes crazy. But in baseball, everybody’s on the edge of their seats every single pitch."

Brown has gotten to know the Phillies since coming to Philadelphia. He threw out the first pitch a week after the Eagles traded for him in April 2022. He and quarterback Jalen Hurts took batting practice with the Phillies in June (he hit at least one home run). And he loves watching Bryce Harper play.

Perhaps that inspired Brown to try catching punts in practice with one hand over his head, as if he was a center fielder waiting for that last out in Game 7 of the World Series.

"Kinda sorta," Brown said with a laugh. "I was just messing around, fooling around with the guys, and seeing who can do it, who can’t."

Brown clearly can.

What's stopping Jalen Hurts from running?

We finally saw Hurts have a breakout day passing the ball, as he threw for a season-high 319 yards in the Eagles' 34-31 overtime win over the Washington Commanders. That included 28 and 59-yard touchdown passes to Brown and a 37-yard completion to DeVonta Smith.

But we still have not seen Hurts take off and run the ball like he had in the previous two-plus seasons. Through four games, Hurts has run for 134 yards on 40 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry.

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To put that into perspective, Hurts has never averaged less than the 4.6 yards per rush that he did last season, and that was when the Eagles started using the so-called "tush push" regularly on QB sneaks. Hurts also had more yards rushing in one game last season, 157 vs. Green Bay last Nov. 27, than he has in four games this season.

What gives?

Against the Commanders, Hurts was 1-on-1 with a defensive back in the flat. Instead of trying to overpower the defender or give him a stiff-arm, Hurts went down for a short gain.

"He needs to protect himself," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "He took the big hit against New England (in the opener), and it's always been our intention to make sure he's protecting himself as a runner. We encourage him to slide, and we encourage him to get down, and we encourage him not to take a big hit."

Of course, Sirianni must still have nightmares of Hurts on a designed run last Dec. 18 against the Bears, when he was tackled on the frozen Soldier Field turf, landing on his shoulder. Hurts missed two games, and his shoulder was still sore in the playoffs.

But Hurts said it's also the way opponents are playing him, making sure they bottle up the middle and take away his ability to escape the pocket, especially to his right.

"Other than scramble or some of those busted plays out of the pocket, there haven’t been many designed runs there," Hurts said. "I think things just change from year to year. You have different ways of attacking people. And you have different ways that people are trying to attack you.

"The game is always changing, and I think that’s an adjustment in itself. To think that something would be the same that it was before, if you have that mindset, I think you’re doing yourself a disservice. You’re trying to learn and continuing to grow. That’s the mindset that you have to have – continue to evolve."

It's easy to lose perspective. After all, defenses focusing so much on Hurts has opened running lanes for D'Andre Swift, who's second in the NFL with 364 yards rushing and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. As a team, the Eagles are second in the NFL, averaging 165 yards rushing per game.

Now that Hurts is throwing deep, perhaps that will open up some running lanes for him. Then again, the Rams have defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

Even Brown knows this. When asked about the Rams cornerbacks, Brown glossed over that and replied: "You have to account for Aaron Donald, number 1. That factors into us running routes. We know we have to get open quick and do a good job of separating and handling our business. They have some really solid DBs. So the challenge is up front, and all of that factors in with us (receivers)."

Donald has never had a sack against the Eagles in four previous games. But Sua Opeta is starting at right guard in place of Cam Jurgens, who's out with a foot injury.

Still, the Eagles do have Jason Kelce in the middle and Landon Dickerson at left guard. They'll neutralize Donald, and Brown and DeVonta Smith will get their chances. And maybe Hurts can break off a long run or two. Regardless, it'll be enough to beat the Rams.

Score: Eagles 33, Rams 24

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why Eagles AJ Brown loves Phillies Stott slam. Can Jalen Hurts run?