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Eagles' Sirianni Doesn't Think A.J. Brown Was Calling Out Jalen Hurts with Comments

Julia Stumbaugh

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni says he does not believe receiver A.J. Brown meant to call out quarterback Jalen Hurts by calling for improved passing after Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers.

"I didn't take it that way," Sirianni said during a Tuesday appearance on 94 WIP (3:50 mark of the video below.) "Again, you guys, you can do anything, and spin it any way, but I didn't take it that way, and I took it as, we want to get better as a passing attack. A.J.'s part of the passing attack.

"We all want to be better at it. Jalen wants to be better at it. A.J. wants to be better at it. And Jalen and A.J. are both really outstanding people and both really outstanding players, and I love that our players are wanting to get better and desire to get better."

Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore also weighed in on the comment on Tuesday.

"I think they work each and every day together, and I think it speaks to just how much work these guys put into this thing," Moore said. "Ultimately, everyone's competitive. Everyone wants to help the team in every possible way. For players, it's usually about their ability to perform, and help the team in some capacity in that way.

"We've got a special group. I think they work really, really well together."

Brown, who was targeted for the first time Sunday in the second quarter, told reporters there was "not too much conversation" with Hurts during games.

When asked about Brown's postgame interview, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham appeared to indicate in a Monday appearance on 94 WIP that there had been a split between Hurts and Brown.

"I don't know the whole story, but I know that [Hurts] is trying. [Brown] could be a little better with how he responds to things. They were friends, but things have changed," Graham said on Monday. "And I understand that because life happens. But the business side, we got to make sure we don't let the personal get in the way of the business."

Graham then told ESPN's Tim McManus the following day that he had "made a mistake," and that he had gotten the situation "all wrong."

"I don't just want to use the media when we need to talk about something and we can fix the problem ourselves...I really just want to win, man, and I want brothers to be able to just hash it out," Graham said, per McManus.

Brown leads Eagles receivers with 48 catches for 836 yards while recording four touchdown catches in 10 games.

This season, however, it's not Brown and the wideouts driving offense in Philadelphia. Philadelphia currently ranks No. 31 in passing offense and No. 1 in rushing offense through 13 games. The Eagles have been relying heavily on their run game since signing Saquon Barkley, who leads the NFL with 266 carries for 1,623 yards.

That has put the Eagles in position to clinch the NFC East and a top-three seed with a victory and a Washington Commanders loss or tie in Week 15, but Moore indicated there might still be some adjustments to the Philadelphia offense going forward. When asked on Tuesday about Brown's lack of targets early during Sunday's win over the Panthers, Moore said getting the ball to Brown more was "something for us to improve on."

   

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