AJ Brown pinpoints ‘kryptonite’ that’s hurting Eagles
AJ Brown gave his thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles' glaring weakness following their 34-17 loss to the New York Giants on Thursday night.
Philadelphia was off to a solid 4-0 start to the 2025 NFL season, starting its Super Bowl title defense quite well. However, the squad has since lost the last two games against the Denver Broncos and Giants, seeing the offense and defense take steps back in the process.
Brown reflected on the loss after the game, per NFL insider Jeremy Fowler. The star receiver pointed out the team's struggles in the third quarter, emphasizing the need for their mindset to be better.
“A.J. Brown: Third quarters are ‘low-key becoming our kryptonite.’ Says he doesn’t think it’s an adjustment issue. ‘We know what they are doing.’ It’s about ‘mindset,’” Fowler wrote.
How AJ Brown, Eagles played against Giants
It's clear that AJ Brown and the Eagles have issues to work as a road loss to their division rival will add more salt to the wound.
The Eagles collapsed in the second half as the Giants made more plays on both sides of the ball throughout the last 30 minutes of regulation.
Jalen Hurts had his numbers but didn't make enough plays in the second half to create a rally. He completed 24 passes out of 33 attempts for 283 yards and a touchdown and an interception while attempting seven rushes for 13 yards and a score.
Saquon Barkley finished with 12 carries for 58 yards while recording two receptions for nine yards against his former team. Dallas Goedert was a shining spot in the Eagles' offense, making nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Brown followed with six receptions for 80 yards while DeVonta Smith provided four catches for 49 yards.
The Eagles will look to bounce back in their next matchup, being on the road. They face the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. ET.
The most intriguing player for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season is Conor Geekie
Is it too much to say that Conor Geekie is the most important player on the Tampa Bay Lightning roster this season? Yes, of course it is. Geekie could score 50 goals this year, but if Andrei Vasilevskiy misses 30 games the Lightning are going to struggle. The same with Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, so on and so forth.
So important, no, but intriguing, sure. We did this a couple of years ago with Brandon Hagel and some of the key points still stand. Geekie, like Hagel before him, could be the key to the Lightning having more than two lines with the capability to score. Of all of the forwards on the roster, Geekie and Gage Goncalves probably have the most room to improve their point totals. If they do, the Lightning become serious Stanley Cup contenders.
It was an up-and-down-and-back-up season for Geekie. He surprised a lot of people by making the team out of training camp. During their current run, the Lightning haven’t exactly been a haven for younger players, so to see the 21-year-old with a whopping two games of AHL experience make the roster on Day One was a bit of a shock.
He held his own for the early going, and showcased some of the skill and physicality that intrigued the Lightning. His effectiveness waned as the season toiled on, and a nine-game pointless streak ended with him being assigned to Syracuse to begin the month of February. The demotion turned into rejuvenation. Geekie was nothing short of beastly with the Crunch as he racked up 20 points (11 goals, 9 assists) in 24 games.
A more aggressive and confident Geekie returned to the Lightning at the end of the season and he potted two goals in three games. Much like the rest of the team, his offense deserted him in the opening round loss to the Panthers where he recorded a solitary assist in the five games while averaging 12:22 of ice time.
The off-season was spent refining his game and working with skills coaches to improve his skating technique. He is not an oafish skater by any means, but lacks some efficiency. He has looked much better in training camp and the pre-season, but there is still room to grow.
The skills are definitely there, and now that he has a season under his belt, his confidence should be there as well. Last season it seemed he deferred a little too much at the NHL level, opting to pass or wait for his teammates to help him. Yet, when he went down to Syracuse, the ability to create his own offense, something that was a calling card in his junior hockey days, returned.
That’s the Conor Geekie that the Lightning can use this year. He might not get a crack at the top-six this season, and the early line rushes have him on the fourth line with Pontus Holmberg and Curtis Douglas, but that might be a blessing in disguise for the Bolts. Having a player with his offensive talent, who is also willing to impose his will physically can create some match-up problems for opponents.
Tampa Bay doesn’t need him to score 30 goals this year. He might be capable of that in the future, but for the 2025-26 season they need him to play consistent hockey on a nightly basis. If he can get to the 15-goal/35-point level as a bottom-six forward then things should be tracking pretty well for the Bolts.
With Goncalves taking a spot on the second line this season, the top six are fairly settled. It’s the next two lines where the Lightning still have plenty of questions, especially with Nick Paul on the sidelines. On paper, it should be better than last season, but banners aren’t hung based on assumptions and hope. They’re hung when the players live up to or out perform their expectations.
For the Lightning, we know that Nikita Kucherov is going to put up 100+ points and Brayden Point is going to be around 40 goals. We don’t know if Conor Geekie is going to be able to take that next step. If he is able to, then Tampa Bay should not only have a successful 2025-26 season, but he could cement himself as part of the next core of Lightning impact players.
