Eagles' Coach Lauds Broncos For Diffusing Deep Shot

PHILADELPHIA - The conspiracy theorists are out in full force, blaming everything but the obvious for the failure of Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown to connect on a deep shot in the Eagles’ 21-17 loss to Denver on Sunday.

Instead of relying on Occam’s Razor (the simplest answer is usually the correct one), many have jumped to a reported lesser relationship between the one-time best friends, or Brown’s concern over the offense contributing to an environment where the three-time second-team All-Pro is dogging some of his routes.

In Philadelphia, there is evidently little rope given after one loss following a historic streak of 20 wins in 21 games.

Head coach Nick Sirianni actually gave credit to the competition and lauded safety Talanoa Hufanga for rerouting Brown at the start of the route, which upset the timing of a long-developing double-move by Brown.

Hat Tip

Coming out of the second move, Brown was open but seemed to have trouble tracking the football out of Jalen Hurts' hands, prompting many to wonder why Brown slowed up, resulting in an overthrow by Hurts.

Brown admitted, “I didn’t think the ball was coming,” after the game, in hindsight, alluding to the reroute.

When pressed, why he eased up, Brown also confirmed the tracking issue: “When I looked up, I didn't see the ball. When I looked back, I didn't see the ball. And then the ball was thrown. Like I said, we just missed.”

Eagles On SI asked Sirianni on Monday what the film revealed. The result was a hat tip to the opponent and not the idea of some nefarious plan by Brown, whose reputation has taken a hit after a week in which the team captain essentially called out the obvious: the idea that the Eagles' passing game hasn't exactly been gangbusters.

“I look back at that and definitely see that the reroute affected us, that's for sure,” the coach said. “That's what defenses do. I mean, sometimes you're expecting a certain look, they give you a different look or they reroute within the middle of it.

“That definitely affected it.”

For those poining fingers at the star WR, Sirianni refused to play into that game.

“ I'm not here to assign blame, we're just looking for solutions, and that's what we're doing,” Sirianni said. “That's what today was about. That's what the rest of the week will be about, defined solutions. But I definitely think that the reroute affected the play, so hat's off to [the Broncos].”

The 4-1 Eagles return to action Thursday night at MetLife Stadium against the 1-4 New York Giants.

MORE NFL: Back To Business? Eagles Need To Revert To Form