Quarterback Jalen Hurts walked into the locker room at halftime against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 with negative one net passing yards, as the Philadelphia Eagles looked on their way to taking a blowout loss with the offense stymied and major questions emerging about the reigning champions’ explosiveness in their title defense.
Trailing 26-7, that’s when Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 38-yard strike deep downfield. Two plays later, Hurts found tight end Dallas Goedert down the seam for a 33-yard touchdown that unleashed a torrent of big plays from the previously dormant offense and helped fuel a frenetic 33-26 comeback win.
“A.J. Brown is so big, fast, and strong,” an AFC Scout told Between The Hashmarks after Sunday’s game. “Philly gets blown out if he doesn’t make that one big play in the second half. He’s right, they really should get him the ball more. A lot more.”
Brown capped Sunday’s effort with a team-high six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, all after halftime, despite being targeted just once through the first two quarters.
Through the season’s first three weeks, Brown has caught 12 of 19 targets for a team-high 144 yards and a touchdown, but it’s hard not to imagine him being a far bigger piece of the inconsistent offense’s puzzle.
There is a strong argument to be made that Brown, and not Hurts nor Saquon Barkley, is the most important offensive player on the Eagles’ roster and that this scheme runs at its peak efficiency and prolificness when he is a focal point.
Against the Rams, the Eagles were able to weather an early storm and eventually get Brown going. However, this might not be a light switch that offensive coordinator Kevin Petullo and Philadelphia want to keep testing in a season where the Eagles are going to be getting their opponent’s best shot each week.
Eagles’ Jalen Hurts Closing on Patrick Mahomes in Pivotal Stat
Hurts has already toppled Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the two Super Bowl showdowns the pair of star quarterbacks have led their teams into, and the defending Super Bowl MVP is closing in on the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player in a pretty vital stat.
Sunday’s victory marked Hurts’ 10th fourth quarter comeback.
Perhaps most impressively, all ten of Hurts’ come from behind wins have been from at least 10 points down. According to CBS Sports’ Jeff Ker, Hurts now has just three fewer fourth quarter comebacks from double digits down.
In the end, Super Bowl rings are the only true barometer, but Hurts is quickly crafting a strong legacy among the more clutch quarterbacks across the NFL.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post ‘A Lot More’: NFL Scout Urges Eagles to Change Plan With A.J. Brown appeared first on Heavy Sports.