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A.J. Brown Casually Read a Book on Eagles' Sidelines During Tight Playoff Game

What a move.

Kyle Koster

AJ Brown reads a book on the sidelines.
AJ Brown reads a book on the sidelines. / Fox Sports on X
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With his Philadelphia Eagles enjoying a 19-10 fourth-quarter lead over the Green Bay Packers in an NFL wild-card game, A.J. Brown found himself with time to kill as his defense took the field against Jordan Love's depleted unit. Because one never stops learning he decided to crack open a book on the sideline.

One one hand, reading is fundamental. On the other, it's a very bizarre thing for a wide receiver to do during a playoff football game that was very much in doubt at the time. Brown, who has had some public friction with his quarterback Jalen Hurts this season, had a single catch for 10 yards at the time.

Until we hear from Brown in the postgame no one will know for sure exactly what this prop-based commentary was all about. It could have been out there so he could pull it out after a touchdown reception as a tweak on the Packers for not having his full attention. It could be a classic squeaky wheel move in order to get the ball more. Maybe there's a pizza party at the end of all this.

It didn't take long for people to figure out what book Brown had in his hands: Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy, hailed as a step-by-step training manual aimed at transforming hearts and minds.

Congrats to everyone involved in that title, as it's sure to get a nice bump from the product placement.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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