In Roob's Eagles Stats, the growing absurdity of A.J. Brown's season
In Roob's Eagles Stats, the growing absurdity of A.J. Brown's season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
I’m trying to not start out the stats piece with A.J. Brown every week, but … how can you not? He’s doing things very few people have ever done before.
So let’s get to it. These numbers are insane!
Welcome to the A.J. Brown section!
1. As you know by now, Brown on Sunday recorded his fifth straight game with at least 125 receiving yards, something only two players had ever done, both with the Lions – flanker Pat Studstill in 1966 and Calvin Johnson in 1982. But did you know the Eagles once went parts of 24 seasons without anybody recording as many as two 125-yard games in a row? In Week 13 of 1986, Mike Quick had 145 yards against the Raiders and a week later 127 yards against the Cards. Then the Eagles didn’t have anybody with consecutive 125-yard games for nearly a quarter of a century. In 2009, DeSean Jackson had 178 yards against the Giants and 140 against the 49ers. The Eagles went from Week 11 in 1994 through Week 1 of 2001 with a total of five 125-yard games (four by Irving Fryar, one by Michael Timpson). So they had five 125-yard games in the span of 88 games over parts of eight seasons. Now one guy has had five in a row.
2. Brown’s 701 yards during this five-game span are the most by any NFL player in a five-game span (in the same season) since 2014, when Demaryius Thomas of the Broncos had 753 yards. Quick held the previous five-game best by an Eagle with 595 yards the first five weeks of 1983. Brown beat that by over 100 yards. Brown’s 809 yards through seven games is the most in Eagles history, 46 more than T.O. had the first seven weeks of his ill-fated 2005 season. Brown’s 2,305 yards since opening day last year are the 3rd-most in history by a player in his first 24 games with one team. Tyreek Hill had 2,612 in his first 24 games after joining the Dolphins last year, and Odell Beckham Jr. netted 2,459 yards in his first 24 games after the Giants drafted him in 2014.
3. But it’s not just the yards, it’s the volume of catches as well. Brown already has 52 receptions, most in Eagles history by a wide receiver the first seven weeks of the season. Zach Ertz had 57 seven games into his 118-catch 2018 season. Brown is only the third Eagles WR with two 10-catch games. Jordan Matthews and Jeremy Maclin also had two.
4. In less than a year and a half, Brown has eight games with at least 125 yards in an Eagles uniform. That’s already tied for 5th-most in franchise history behind Tommy McDonald (13), Mike Quick (12), DeSean Jackson (12) and Pete Retzlaff (10) and tied with Harold Jackson.
5. Finally this: Only three players in NFL history have ever had 50 catches, 800 yards and 15 yards per catch seven games into a season. All three were at the Linc Sunday night. In 2018, Julio Jones was 53-812-15.3 after seven games for the Falcons and this year Tyreek Hill is 53-902-17.0 and A.J. Brown is 53-812-15.3.
And now, welcome to the non-A.J. Brown section!
6. The Eagles have allowed an NFL-low 440 rushing yards, the 10th-fewest any team has allowed in NFL history through seven games and the fewest in 13 years, since the 2010 Steelers allowed 412. The only other team since 1995 to allow fewer is the 2000 Ravens, who gave up 405. It’s the fewest rushing yards the Eagles have allowed through seven games in 79 years. The only time they allowed fewer was 1944, when they gave up 434.
7. Jalen Hurts’ rushing touchdown Sunday was the 32nd of his career and moved him into a tie with Randall Cunningham for 5th-most in Eagles history, behind only Steve Van Buren (69), Wilbert Montgomery (45), LeSean McCoy (44) and Brian Westbrook (37). His 31 rushing TDs as a starter are most in the NFL by a quarterback in his first 40 starts, five more than Cam Newton. He scored one in 2020 in a game he didn’t start.
8. Hurts has at least one rushing and one passing TD in three straight games, tied for the 5th-longest streak in NFL history and two shy of the record of five, set in 2020 by Kyler Murray and matched in 2022 by Justin Fields. It’s the 2nd-longest streak in Eagles history. In 2010 Michael Vick had four straight games with rushing and passing TDs. Hurts’ 81 combined rushing and passing touchdowns are 14th-most by a quarterback in his first 40 starts in NFL history.
9. The Eagles won Sunday despite just 99 rushing yards on 34 attempts. That’s their fewest yards on 34 or more rushing attempts in eight years, since Week 10 of the 2015 season and another game against the Dolphins, a 20-19 loss at the Linc when they ran 35 times for 83 yards. It was only the eighth time since 1979 they’ve rushed 34 or more times for under 100 yards.
10. The Eagles have averaged 35 minutes, 4 seconds of time of possession, which is the 9th-highest ToP figure on record by any NFL team through seven games. Time-of-possession data is available going back to 1983. The Eagles have already had four games at 36 ½ minutes or more.
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