The Philadelphia Eagles won their ninth straight game on Sunday in a narrow victory over the Carolina Panthers. But despite this, not everyone was all that happy with how the game had gone.
Carolina’s pass defense made it incredibly difficult for the Eagles offense to get much of anything going in the passing game. Hurts was able to
Despite finishing the game with the most receiving yards of any Eagles player, A.J. Brown was none too happy about the performance of the offense.
In a discussion with reporters in the locker room, Brown was incredibly short when being asked questions about the Eagles offense. He detailed how the passing game, which is of course led by Jalen Hurts, is something that needs to be improved, going on to say that he was “incredibly frustrated” about being unable to get into a rhythm in the game.
AJ Brown on what the offense needs to improve on:
“Passing”
Says everything is fixable
Says he slammed his helmet out of frustration after a 3-and-out pic.twitter.com/iSG4MvOpt2
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) December 8, 2024
It’s quite uncommon that you see these kinds of postgame responses to reporters after a win. This prompted longtime Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham, a very well-respected member of the Eagles locker room, to offer his thoughts on Brown’s comments.
Graham spoke about the perceived animosity between the two on The Brandon Graham Show, his weekly radio show on Sports Radio 94WIP in Philadelphia every Monday, detailing how he believes “things have changed” between Brown and Hurts.
“The person that’s complaining needs to be accountable,” said Graham about Brown. “And I’m just being honest, you know what I’m saying. And he knows this. I don’t know the whole story, but I know that 1 is trying. 11 could be a little better at how he responds to things. They was friends before this. It’s like man… But things have changed and I understand that because life happens. But we have to make sure that the personal side doesn’t get in the way of the business. That’s what we have to do better at right now.
“We know it’s an issue. Everybody is seeing some things. But we need to be able to talk things out as men. You know what I’m saying? We need to let personal stuff go. And let’s get right for this game. Most of the time, it’s just a conversation that just needs to be had. But the person with the problem has got to want to talk to the person other than others. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I know 1 is trying and 11 could be better with how he responds to things. They were friends, but things have changed.”
Brandon Graham gives insight to the AJ Brown/Jalen Hurts drama: pic.twitter.com/RcouHPGK43
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) December 9, 2024
When Brown first made his comments, there wasn’t exactly any indication that it was anything more than typical frustration from a star wide receiver after a rather mediocre game. And it turns out, Graham may have taken Brown’s comments out of context.
When asked about his comments on the matter on his radio show with ESPN Eagles reporter Tim McManus, Graham largely retracted his thoughts on Hurts and Brown’s relationship perhaps being fractured.
“I just assumed [about their friendship] and it made me out to look even worse because I had it all wrong and now people are going to run with that part,” said Graham via McManus. “I really just want to win, man, and I want brothers to be able to just hash it out. I’m going to make sure I apologize to both of them. I wasn’t trying to be divisive. I just didn’t want us to use the media in a bad way. I can’t do that either. If I’ve got something [to say], I’ve got to go to the people, too.”
As for the overall message Graham was trying to convey:
“I wasn’t trying to be divisive. I just didn’t want us to use the media in a bad way. I can’t do that either. If I’ve got something [to say], I’ve got to go to the people, too.”
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 10, 2024
Whatever the case may be, the organization certainly doesn’t need any distractions at this point in the season. The Eagles are in the midst of contending for a No. 1 seed in the NFC, sitting only a game behind the Detroit Lions for the top overall seed.
Unfortunately for Graham, he will not return this season after suffering a season-ending injury in the team’s Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
But it seems like during his time on the sideline, he will be fully invested in making sure the relationship between Brown and Hurts is a good one. And perhaps an apology to both of them after unintentionally spreading incorrect information about them…
