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A.J. Brown #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles.

After getting the best of the competition throughout the first month of the 2025 NFL season, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles lost their first game of their title defense in Week 5 to the Denver Broncos.

Every single game the Eagles have played this season has been close, and Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field was no different, with Bo Nix and company pulling out the four-point win on the road.

However, the outcome of this game, and the Eagles’ record, would’ve been likely much different had stars Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown been on the same page on a play that could’ve resulted in an easy touchdown for Philadelphia.

A.J. Brown’s Telling Response to Criticism

During the first three quarters of Week 5’s matchup with the Broncos, the Eagles were in complete control, taking a 17-3 lead into the fourth quarter, with the consensus being that Philadelphia was well on its way to a fifth straight win to start the season.

Unfortunately, the fourth quarter was when Sean Payton’s squad began to turn it on, scoring 18 points in the quarter, which proved to be the difference in the game.

After the game, during media availability at his locker, Brown was asked about a play in which it looked like there would’ve been a game-changing touchdown between him and Hurts. Still, he appeared to let up early, resulting in the football soaring over his head.

“From my point of view, it was just missed,” Brown said of the missed opportunity for a touchdown. “It’s not that I didn’t think the ball was coming. When I looked up, I didn’t see the ball. I looked back, I didn’t see the ball, and then the ball was thrown. Like I said, we just missed.”

Brown was also asked if he and Hurts talked about the missed opportunity, giving a one-word response.

“No,” Brown said.

The veteran wide receiver was also asked if they’ll look back on the play as a moment that could’ve changed the game.

“Yeah, but there’s so much more that you can look at and determine what we didn’t do well at,” Brown said.

Even though it wasn’t said aloud, Brown seemed frustrated, as he hadn’t exactly been involved in the offense like he’d have wanted to be, considering he’s one of the best wide receivers in the league coming off a Super Bowl title.

Missed Eagles’ Touchdown Opportunity on A.J. Brown?

Despite what Brown says publicly, the footage of the play in which he appears to let up on his run for the football seems fairly telling, which was clipped by Victor Williams of USA Today.

This isn’t a great look for Brown, as it seems he stopped running on a play in which he could’ve caught the pass, scored, and potentially won the game for the Eagles.

During this Week 5 loss to the Broncos, Brown caught five passes for 43 yards.

Before the team’s first loss of the season, Brown had only caught 14 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown, which is not the kind of numbers a star wide receiver wants on a legitimate Super Bowl title contender.