Eagles' A.J. Brown talks Hall of Fame after outplaying Dolphins' Tyreek Hill
Eagles' A.J. Brown talks Hall of Fame after outplaying Dolphins' Tyreek Hill originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tyreek Hill may be the best receiver in the NFL, but he sure wasn’t the best receiver at the Linc Sunday night.
A.J. Brown continued his historic pace with monster catch after monster catch in the Eagles’ 31-17 win over the Dolphins at the Linc.
Hill got off to a hot start, but when the smoke had cleared Brown had his NFL-record-tying fifth straight 125-yard game, and Hill caught 11 passes but for only 88 yards.
In the second half, Brown caught seven passes for 90 yards and Hill three for just 23 yards.
Hill is a future Hall of Famer. Brown was better. Way better.
The dude is in the zone. No matter what he says.
“I wouldn't say I'm in a zone, I'm just, each and every possession, I'm trying to stay locked in with my routes and my pad level and just making sure I catch the ball and breaking it down to the smallest little (detail), and just trying to stay locked in for my team,” Brown said postgame.
“Whatever I have (in yards) at the end of the game is what I have at the end of the game, but whenever I get my opportunity I know I got to come alive.
“Trusting my coaches to keep putting me in situations, trusting the game, letting it come to me, you know, and whenever I get my opportunity, make the most of it, I think that is what it is.”
Since Week 3:
131 yards vs. the Buccaneers
175 yards vs. Washington
127 yards vs. the Rams
131 yards vs. the Jets
137 yards vs. the Dolphins
The only other players in NFL history with five straight games with at least 125 yards are Lions flanker (and punter) Pat Studstill in 1966 and Calvin Johnson, also with the Lions, in 2012.
His 701 yards are most in franchise history in a five-game span, 106 more than Mike Quick had the first five weeks of 1983.
“Shout out to Calvin Johnson,” Brown said. “Just to be beside his name, it says a lot. I'm honored. That guy’s a Hall of Fame receiver. Something I hope to be one day.”
The Hall of Fame? That’s not crazy talk.
Brown is already up to 5,300 career yards, a 16.3 average and 38 touchdowns. The only other players with 5,300 yards, at least 16 yards per catch and 38 TDs in their first 67 games are Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.
That’s not bad company.
He’s 10th-fastest in history to 5,300 yards.
Brown was really good in Tennessee. But he’s blossomed here into a full-fledged superstar.
“He’s a great player,” Jalen Hurts said. “He’s a great player and he works really hard to be where he is and to do what he’s doing. We need that from him. He’s working and it’s showing.”
Brown’s 32-yarder down to the 1-yard-line set up the Eagles’ second touchdown Sunday, then he added a 14-yard TD at the end of the third quarter that gave the Eagles the lead for good at 24-17. He finished with a 42-yarder to set up Kenny Gainwell’s clinching TD with five minutes left in the game.
Just an insane performance from the 26-year-old Brown.
Brown's 809 yards are the most in franchise history through seven games – T.O. had 763 in 2005 – and he’s on pace for 1,965 yards, which would break his franchise record from last year by nearly 500 yards.
His current average of 116 yards per game would be 10th-highest in NFL history.
“A.J. is a phenomenal player,” Nick Sirianni said. “He just has this unbelievable ability to come down with the football. Nobody catches the ball as pretty as A.J. Brown. I am just in awe of good wide receivers and the skill that they have. Nobody goes and snags the football like him. Nobody I have seen. It’s so much cooler in person to see that and when it’s someone on your team. He’s on a tear right now.”
What were the Titans thinking when they unloaded him? Who knows. The GM that Howie Roseman fleeced is currently out of work.
“So appreciative of Howie,” Sirianni said. “I thought I would never say this, but I think this week at practice, A.J. was having an unbelievable practice, and I went up to Mr. Lurie and I go, there’s no way I ever thought this would come out of my mouth, ‘Thanks for the hundred million dollars to pay A.J. Brown. I really appreciate that.’”
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