Nick Sirianni grew defensive when pressed on the Eagles' controversial fourth-down call against the Packers and A.J. Brown's frustrations. Credit: Philadelphia Eagles
By Sam Neumann on

Nick Sirianni had had enough of the questions on Wednesday.

The Eagles’ head coach got defensive during his press conference when reporters pressed him on Monday night’s fourth-and-six decision against the Packers and A.J. Brown’s ongoing frustrations with his role in the offense. Sirianni repeatedly insisted he called the controversial deep shot to Brown with 33 seconds left, grew annoyed when asked why Brown had just two targets before that play, and eventually declared he’s “close to being done” answering questions about his star receiver.

The tension started when reporters asked about the fourth-down call. With the Eagles leading 10-7 and the ball at Green Bay’s 35-yard line, Sirianni opted to go for it instead of punting or attempting a long field goal. Jalen Hurts threw deep for Brown in single coverage, underthrew it, and the pass fell incomplete. The Packers got the ball back with excellent field position but missed a field goal attempt that would’ve tied the game.

Radio host Bill Colarulo reported Tuesday on 97.5 The Fanatic that multiple sources told him Hurts and Brown “went rogue” on the play call, checking out of whatever Sirianni wanted. But Sirianni wasn’t having it.

When asked about it on Wednesday, Sirianni insisted he called the play that was run.

“I knew exactly what the play was that we were calling and that was run in that moment,” Sirianni said.

“So, they didn’t check?” a reporter asked.

“I knew exactly what the play was in that moment, what we called, and what did happen,” Sirianni replied.

The questions about Brown’s involvement got even testier. Another reporter asked why Brown wasn’t targeted in the first 59 minutes of the game before that fourth-down heave.

“Are we in a debate?” Sirianni shot back.

“I think that’s a fair question to ask,” the reporter responded.

“What’s the question?”

After the reporter repeated it, Sirianni launched into his explanation about how plays designed for Brown don’t always go to Brown, citing DeVonta Smith’s touchdown as an example of a play initially meant for Brown that got taken away by Green Bay’s coverage.

“You can’t look at stats and just say this is what’s happening,” Sirianni said. “You can’t paint the picture that way. I know that is sometimes all the information that you guys may have, but you can’t look at it that way and say, ‘Here’s how the game is playing out.'”

Brown finished with two catches for 13 yards on three targets against the Packers. He’s averaging a career-low 51 yards per game this season and has posted fewer than 30 receiving yards in four of eight games. Brown hasn’t been shy about his frustrations either, telling fans during a Twitch stream Tuesday night to drop him from their fantasy teams and calling the situation “a sh*t show.”

When asked about Brown’s latest comments, Sirianni reached his breaking point.

“Yeah, guys, I’m close to being done answering these questions with this,” Sirianni said. “He’s working hard, and he is a big part of this game plan and will be a big part of the game plan going forward. And, he’s working like crazy when he’s here, and I’m excited to have him.”

It’d be hard not to feel like this is a coach trying to maintain control of a narrative that’s slipping away from him. Brown keeps making his frustrations public. Reports keep surfacing that Hurts and Brown are checking out of play calls. And Sirianni keeps insisting everything’s fine while getting increasingly irritated with perfectly reasonable questions about what’s happening with one of the league’s best receivers.

The Eagles are 7-2 and heading into a huge Sunday night matchup against Detroit, but the dysfunction around Brown isn’t going away. Sirianni can declare himself done answering these questions all he wants. They’re not stopping until either Brown starts getting the ball more often or he’s no longer in Philadelphia.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann