Eagles’ A.J. Brown dominates Titans, makes statement to former team in win

By Ben Arthur
Updated Dec. 4, 2022 7:59 p.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles receiver A.J. Brown said Sunday's game against his former team, the Titans, was "not personal." But he acknowledged the matchup had extra significance to him. 

How could it not? Brown had wanted to be a Titan for life, but extension talks with the franchise went awry this past spring. It led to his being traded to the Eagles (11-1) on the first day of the NFL draft, a move that rocked the league. He quickly signed with Philadelphia the big-money deal that Tennessee wouldn't give him: four years for $100 million, including $57 million guaranteed.

The significance of the matchup, it seems, brought some juice out of Brown. 

"This one meant a lot to me," Brown said. "I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t circle this game."

The star receiver poured it on his former team Sunday, posting eight receptions on 10 targets for a team-high 119 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles' 35-10 thrashing of the Titans at Lincoln Financial Field. He gave the Titans (7-5) a taste of what they gave up. 

It started early. 

In the second quarter, Brown had a 40-yard touchdown reception reversed after review, only to score a 40-yard touchdown for real on the next play. He trucked cornerback Kristian Fulton on his route and was wide open by the time Hurts hit him downfield. 

From the 1-yard line, he turned around and walked into the end zone. 

In the third quarter, Brown had a ridiculous touchdown reception. Titans cornerback Tre Avery was in his face giving up no breathing room, but Brown caught a well-placed Hurts ball over Avery's shoulders in the end zone for the 29-yard score. The 2020 Pro Bowler put his hands out at the last minute to make the reception.

"We know A.J. has a special ability to catch the ball, no matter the circumstances," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "He made some catches today that I’m not sure that I’d seen that many good catches by one guy in a game." 

Brown wasn't the only one feasting for the Eagles in the passing game. DeVonta Smith (5 catches, 102 yards, TD) also had over 100 yards receiving, and Hurts (28-of-39, 380 yards, 3 TDs) was eight yards shy of a single-game career high in passing yards without playing most of the fourth quarter. 

Philadelphia was also dominant defensively. Tennessee's 10 points marked its second-fewest of the season. The Titans' lone red-zone trip, which reached the Eagles 8, resulted in just three points. Philadelphia had six sacks and held Tennessee to 4-of-14 on third down. 

On Sunday, we saw everything that has made the Eagles a Super Bowl contender this season.

"We know who we are," Smith said. "We know the type of team we have." 

On this day though, Brown was the big story. 

He said it wasn’t tough to keep his emotions in check for the game. The past couple weeks, he’s been working on himself, he explained. Working on his consistency and focus, after lost fumbles in each of the last two games. 

It wasn’t really about who the Eagles were playing. 

"Today, I let it out," Brown said. "I let it all out."

Sirianni's message to Brown ahead of Sunday's game? Don't do anything more than be yourself. 

"That's why he's here, that's why we traded for him, that's why we paid him — because he's a phenomenal player," Sirianni said this week. "You don't have to do anything special because you're special enough to go out there and play."

Play, Brown says, that could’ve been even better. 

He was asked if his performance against the Titans was what he imagined.

"Nah," Brown said. "This is not the game I envisioned."

What did Brown envision?

He laughed.

"An even bigger day."

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Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.