A.J. Brown-Jalen Hurts pairing off to a great start in win over Lions

By Ralph Vacchiano
FOX Sports NFC East Writer

The Eagles traded first- and third-round draft picks for receiver A.J. Brown and then gave him a $100 million contract because they believe he's a difference-maker. They thought he could transform their offense.

And in Week 1, it sure looked like they were right.

Brown was everything the Eagles hoped he would be in their season-opening, nail-biting, 38-35 win over the Detroit Lions. He had 10 catches for a career-high 155 yards — the most yards ever for an Eagles player in his Philly debut, and the most for any Eagles receiver in four years. Brown caught more than half of quarterback Jalen Hurts' completions and accounted for 64% of the QB's passing yards.

He and Hurts were the Eagles' offense. Brown's catches and Hurts' runs (17 for 90 yards) accounted for 54% of the 455 yards the Eagles gained. 

"He made plays," Hurts said after the game. "He made big-time plays today. A.J. made a lot of plays that gave us a lot of momentum." 

For most of the game, Brown and Hurts were the only ones making plays at all for the Eagles. That part is not good. They need way more balance if they're going to be serious contenders this season. DeVonta Smith, who had 64 catches for 916 yards as a rookie last season, can't get shut out like he did on Sunday. And Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is going to have to use his running backs more often than he did, especially early, and especially considering the strength of this team should be its offensive line.

It sounded, at least, like that was the plan. Even Brown didn't think he'd be such a dominant part of the attack.

"To be honest, I didn't," he said. "We had a game plan, but sometimes the ball keeps finding me. We know we have weapons on offense. Today it was my day."

It sure was. Regardless of everything else — including a defense that hardly looked ready for a run at the division title — the 25-year-old Brown showed what's possible with this Eagles offense. He reintroduced Hurts to the middle of the field, which was a place where he rarely threw last season. He proved to be a clutch receiver, bailing out Hurts when he was being chased by the relentless Lions pass rush.

And when Hurts got time to operate, Brown showed everyone what a true No. 1 receiver can do. That's what happened late in the first half, when the Lions sent four defensive ends after Hurts and the Eagles' line didn't let any of them through. That gave Brown a chance to get downfield, and Hurts hit him with a perfect pass for a 54-yard gain, setting up a late field goal.

"That was a dime," Brown said. "It fell out of the sky."

It was a perfect pass. But it was also a terrific catch — the kind of play that top receivers make in a big moment, and the kind of play the Eagles were clearly lacking last year.

Having that in this offense changes so much. There were stretches of the game when the Lions couldn't unleash their pass rush, when Hurts and Brown were clicking on their quick slants. And with the middle of the field suddenly an option in the passing game, the Lions were forced to play their linebackers farther off the line of scrimmage and couldn't keep their safeties down in the box as often as they probably would have liked.

That not only gave Hurts more room to run to the outside, since the coverage wasn't slanted toward the sidelines, but it gave the Eagles' running backs more room to run up the middle. Not that Sirianni took much advantage of that for much of the game, but the middle is where Miles Sanders had most of his 96 rushing yards once he finally got involved.

And it made a huge difference for Hurts. He didn't put up huge numbers in the passing game — just 18-for-32 for 243 yards — but he looked more comfortable in the pocket than he did last season. Maybe he took off on the run a little too much, but he seemed to run intelligently and knew when to throw the ball away. And a few times, when he was really in trouble, he was able to maintain his composure on the run and somehow find Brown.

Having a safety valve like that, and a such a reliable weapon, is everything for a young quarterback. And it showed.

"He had complete control out there today," Sirianni said. "He saw the field perfectly."

Maybe not perfectly, but it was clearly an improvement. Even Hurts said his performance "didn't meet my standards today" and he added, "There's always more out there." Despite 38 points, 455 yards of offense, there definitely was.

Because the addition of Brown means this Eagles offense won't be one-dimensional anymore. They aren't stuck with outside throws and a running game dominated by Hurts. Brown is going to consistently command the attention of every defense the Eagles play. That should clear out a lot of room for Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert to put up some numbers in the passing game, and give Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott a lot more room up the middle to run.

Brown, though, is clearly the guy in this offense. That's why Eagles GM Howie Roseman went after him so aggressively during the NFL draft and why he signed him to that $100 million contract with $56 million guaranteed.

It was for performances like the one we saw Sunday in Detroit. Brown's presence could make the Eagles' offense one of the best in football. And while their hope is that he won't have to carry the offense all season, Brown just showed that he can do that.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and the Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that he spent 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. A Long Island, N.Y. native and graduate of Syracuse University, he can be found on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.