BREAKING: A.J. BROWN GOES MYSTERIOUS AFTER ‘MEETING’ WITH HURTS & BARKLEY
The Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski reported the Philadelphia Eagles offensive stars — Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley — “had a long, positive conversation” together Monday to work out any issues. Both Hurts and Barkley confirmed with reporters that that meeting occurred.
However, Brown refused to say the meeting took place after the Eagles suffered a second straight defeat Thursday night.
“I don’t recall a meeting. I don’t know what you’re talking about it,” Brown told reporters, via PHLY Sports’ EJ Smith. “You need to talk to them. I don’t recall.
“I don’t recall.”
It’s hard to describe Brown’s answer as anything but odd, especially after another loss. The Eagles didn’t score in the second half Thursday night and suffered a 34-17 setback to the New York Giants.
With the defeat, Philadelphia has sustained back-to-back losses for the first time since 2023.
Brown finished the night with six catches and 80 receiving yards.
A.J. Brown Trolling Media With Answer on Players-Only Meeting?
Several Philadelphia reporters, along with league insiders from NFL Network, were posting about Brown revealing he doesn’t recall a meeting with Barkley and Hurts this week. In reaction to those posts on X, social media users responded saying Brown was trolling the media.
Based on the fact Brown is obviously smiling while saying he doesn’t “recall” the meeting, it’s quite possible the receiver was having some fun with reporters.
Still, Brown’s response comes across as odd.
A lot of fans don’t like the media, so maybe Brown’s behavior won’t go over poorly with too many people. But making light of a meeting that was supposed to be part of a solution for Philadelphia’s offense after another loss could backfire on the receiver.
Some social media users speculated Brown gave his response as a way to act rebellious, which could lead to a trade.
Eagles Fail to Bounce Back vs. Giants
The Philadelphia No. 1 receiver had his second-best yardage total of the 2025 season Thursday. However, it was a rough night for the Eagles offense overall.
Philadelphia’s final two drives ended in giveaways. Hurts threw his first interception of the season in the red zone. Before the pick, the Eagles had an opportunity to cut New York’s lead to one score.
Running back A.J. Dillon lost a fumble on the next possession.
The Eagles didn’t blow a second-half lead because they never led after halftime Thursday. But the third and fourth quarters went about as well as they did for Philadelphia on Sunday versus the Denver Broncos.
The Giants outgained the Eagles 168-115 after halftime. Philadelphia didn’t have a third-down conversion in the second half and was 1-for-9 on third down overall.
The Eagles will now have some time to figure out what has gone wrong in the past two games. Their next matchup will be Sunday, October 19 at 1 pm ET. The Eagles will visit the Minnesota Vikings.
The following Sunday, the Eagles will see the Giants again before taking their bye week. Philadelphia will then open November with two tough opponents from the NFC North — the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
Broncos HC Sean Payton Sounds Off on TE Evan Engram’s Failure to Launch
After signing tight end Evan Engram to a lucrative two-year contract this past spring, the Denver Broncos have yet to get a return on investment. Through the first four weeks, Engram has caught just eight passes for 62 yards.
The veteran tight end missed Week 3 with a back injury, so that skews the numbers slightly. Still, he's on pace for just 34 receptions and 264 yards this season.
Obviously, Engram's integration into Sean Payton's offense hasn't gone as planned, though there has been the setback of a pair of injuries. Nevertheless, Payton isn't losing any sleep over it.
“I think a lot of it is the script. There are times where you definitely look to involve him, but we don’t come off a game like last week and then look at who got touches," Payton said of Engram's involvement. "We’re not playing the fantasy game. We’re trying to win."
Fans can understand what Payton is saying, but let's face it: Engram has failed to launch at the quarter pole of the season.
It would be one thing if Engram were a highly-touted draft pick, still new to the NFL, and finding his way. But this is his ninth NFL season, and he's with his third club. He knows how the sausage gets made.
How much of Engram's lack of impact has to do with the ankle injury he suffered in Week 1 and played through in Week 2, which was then compounded by the back injury that kept him out of Week 3? It's hard to say, but just the fact that it caused him to miss a game means that the injury bug has limited his impact.
How much of Engram's sputtering start has to do with quarterback Bo Nix's uneven play this season? Probably quite a lot, honestly. But we saw things begin to trend upward for Engram in Week 4, as he received a season-high seven targets, catching four for 29 yards. Payton was trying to get Engram cooking.
The most important thing to Payton isn't Engram's stats; it's the standings. But we know how cognizant the Broncos' head coach is of feeding his key guys statistically, and that stretches back to all those years he spent with the New Orleans Saints.
"Sometimes, I can recall over the years, big wins against tough teams and maybe a player like [former Saints TE Jimmy] Graham or [former Saints WR] Mike Thomas didn’t [get many touches], and it’s not intentional. These guys are going to cloud [WR] Courtland [Sutton]. They’re going to put their best corner on him at times. Some of that is how that game unfolds.”
We've seen that happen already, where Sutton is receiving double-team attention. It was especially prevalent against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, where Sutton only had one catch for six yards.
In those situations, Payton, Nix, and Engram have to make opponents pay when they "cloud" Sutton and keep a safety over the top. I include Payton because the only routes in which we've seen Engram targeted are either shallow crossers or dump-offs.
We haven't seen Engram running routes downfield much, nor is his big body being used down the seam as a mismatch advantage. Everything has been underneath.
On one hand, I understand that Payton is trying to get Engram the ball on the run and in space, and see if he can use his speed and athleticism to pick up some yards after the catch. But on the other, does that have to be the only way Engram touches the ball?
The good news is that, up to this point, he's been such a non-entity in the Broncos' offense that it's possible opponents are sleeping on him.
Sunday's East Coast road tilt vs. the Philadelphia Eagles could present some prime opportunities to throw some Engram routes into the mix that opponents have yet to see. If the Broncos can get the run game going on the road, the play-action game could come alive, and Engram could be one of its biggest beneficiaries.
We know it's not fantasy football, coach. But you're paying Engram $11.5 million per year, for crying out loud. At some point, the Broncos need to see a contribution commensurate with his paycheck.
