Overreactions to Day 1 of Eagles Joint Practice With Patriots: Offense Badly Misses A.J. Brown?

The first of two joint practices between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots are in the books. Advantage -- Patriots.

New England appeared to have "won" Day 1 of the joint practice, or have the upper hand over Philadelphia. This is rare territory for the Eagles, who usually are the better team in these joint sessions under Nick Sirianni.

The Eagles also had A.J. Brown in a lot of those years. That's not the case anymore -- they were facing Brown. That showed in Wednesday's practice, and showed the Eagles what life was like without Brown on both sides of the ball.

With a joint practice comes overreactions. Which overreactions have merit? Which are out of left field?

The Eagles offense badly misses A.J. Brown

Overreaction or reality: Reality

This was always going to be case right? The Eagles were automatically going to be worse without A.J. Brown as the WR1 in the pass game. Even though DeVonta Smith is a WR1, a team just doesn't replace a top-5 wide reciever.

Some Eagles fans lie to themselves about A.J. Brown's impact on this team -- and they are the most vocal. It's perfectly acceptable to be upset at the Brown fallout, but that's a different story.

Brown had his way against the Eagles secondary in 1-on-1s, which shouldn't be a surprise. He's a good player and still one of the best recievers in football. If Brown had a very good year, it shouldn't surprise anyone in the least.

As for the Eagles own offense? This unit is going to be based off the run game and a healthy offensive line, just like how it's been in years past. That's the formula to winning football games.

The passing game is a work in progress, but this wide receiver group just isn't going to be as good in 2026 without Brown on this team.

The WR group showed its true colors against Patriots

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

Hard to evaluate the Eagles wide receivers when two of the three starters aren't practicing. DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon were limited in this one, and this was Lemon's first practice since August 4. Smith didn't participate in 11-on-11s, so it's hard to move the ball without a WR1.

Dontayvion Wicks is going to be fine as the WR2. What the Eagles need to do is get Lemon up to speed and 100% by Week 1, as they're going to need him if the pass game is going to have a chance. Jalen Hurts is throwing a lot of interceptions in camp for a reason.

Elijah Moore had an impressive touchdown catch in the joint practice, and continues to make his case towards making the team. Hollywood Brown did have a third down catch, but Christian Barmore also went untouched on the play (it is practice after all).

Quick throws and underneath routes are this offense, and that's what the Eagles excel in. The big plays from the Brown era are going to be more scarce.

Let's see how this team looks with Smith back as WR1, and how quickly Lemon acclimates himself to the offense. If Lemon can't, the Eagles are in trouble.

Eagles secondary will be susceptible to big plays

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

The Eagles gave up a few over-the-top passes from Drake Maye to A.J. Brown in this practice, but remember the quarterback can't be touched. Brown had his way against Tariq Woolen on those deep balls, but Maye deserves credit for seting him up.

Maye is a good quarterback, no matter what social media tries to tell you. He gave the secondary fits, but Quinyon Mitchell appeared to showcase by he's one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.

This is why it's hard to be concerned about the No. 1 pass defense in the league over the past two years. Mitchell is still one of the elite cornerback and Cooper DeJean is one of -- if not the best -- slot cornerback in football. Woolen is an upgrade over what the Eagles had last year, even if he hasn't had the best summer.

Chalk this up to Maye and Brown being good. That quarterback-receiver combination is going to make plays.

The Eagles run game will be the reason they make a deep playoff run

Overreaction or reality: Reality

Even though the Eagles have issues at wide receiver, the running attack with Saquon Barkley and company is going to be very good. The offensive line is 100% and dominated the line of scrimmage early, which is how the Eagles moved the ball.

A lot of holes were created for Barkley, who stacked up some big runs on Wednesday. The same went for Will Shipley, who had a strong day and likely sealed the RB3 job.

This offense will still roll off the back of Barkley and the offensive line, and that's the ticket to a Super Bowl run. The holes the unit can create for Barkley, along with how the offensive linemen like the scheme, makes the potential for the run game to recreate the 2024 vibes.

Again, the Eagles just need Smith and Lemon healthy. The offense will look much better once those two are on the field.

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