The Philadelphia Eagles played their first game this season without All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown on Sunday against the New York Giants. The Eagles offense, though, looked just fine.
Behind 276 rushing yards, Philadelphia scored 38 points. Running backs Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby both eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground.
Meanwhile, quarterback Jalen Hurts averaged nine yards per pass and threw four touchdowns.
After beating the Giants 38-20 on Sunday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was clear that playing without stars such as Brown is always difficult. But Sirianni also stressed how much confidence he has in his team’s other receivers.
“Obviously, anytime you lose a player like AJ for a game, it changes some things as far as how you go about putting guys in different positions,” Sirianni said. “But naturally, if you have faith in the guys that you have backing him up, whether that’s receiver or o-line, you still go about doing what they can do the best, and also putting them in position to make plays.
“We’re always going to be better with AJ on the field, but I thought those guys did a nice job stepping up and making plays.”
Brown’s partner in crime in Philadelphia’s receiver room, DeVonta Smith, led the Eagles with six catches and 84 receiving yards. But other receivers Jahan Dotson and Xavier Gipson also each had receptions in Brown’s absence.
Hurts completed 15 passes, eight of which went to receivers.
Eagles Preview Offense Without A.J. Brown?
Pundits have started a lot of discussions surrounding the relationship between the Eagles and Brown this fall. On Saturday, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini fanned the flames in rumors that the team could move Brown before the NFL trade deadline.
“A.J. Brown is agitated. The Eagles know it,” Russini posted on X. “The league knows it. But for now, Philadelphia wants him on its roster.
“But if Brown continues to seem miserable leading up to the trade deadline, does something have to change?”
Fans who answer yes to Russini’s question would argue that Week 8 could be a preview of what the Eagles can be without Brown. Obviously, the potential preview was very positive.
It helped the Eagles that they averaged 8.4 yards per rush.
“We always want to be able to run the football, and we were really efficient being able to do that today,” Sirianni told reporters. “There’s no secret, we want to be a balanced offense that can run, close games out. Be explosive in the pass game, be efficient in the pass game.
“Regardless of who is in, we have a lot of faith in all the wideouts.”
Sirianni called out four receivers by name when talking about that confidence — Dotson, Gipson, John Metchie III and Darius Cooper.
Dotson had a 40-yard touchdown catch in Week 8. Gipson registered a three-yard reception on his only target.
Metchie and Cooper didn’t receive targets.
Tight End Dallas Goedert Continues Strong Season for Eagles
The Eagles were also able to replace Brown in large part because of Dallas Goedert. The veteran tight end hauled in all three of his targets for only 28 yards. But two of his three catches were touchdowns.
“Ever since I’ve been here, and even before I got here, Dallas has been a big-time player,” Sirianni said. “He has the ability to make plays in both the run and pass game.
“So anytime you have a player like that, that’s huge.”
With his two scores Sunday, Goedert has already set a new career high with seven touchdowns this season. He also has 29 catches for 289 yards in 2025.
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