The Philadelphia Eagles have been blazing hot, currently on a nine-game win streak. They are atop the NFC East division, leading the Commanders by four games. Despite their recent success, the team has its difficulties on the inside, though.
Last Monday, Eagles veteran defensive end Brandon Graham told ESPN he took his comments about teammates Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown too far during a radio appearance. Graham ironically emphasized the importance of hashing things out internally rather than through the media during his weekly radio show on 94 WIP. That’s when he suggested Hurts and Brown aren’t tight like they once were.
“The person that’s complaining needs to be accountable,” Graham said. “I don’t know the whole story, but I know that [Hurts] is trying and [Brown] could be a little better with how he responds to things. They were friends before this, but things have changed, and I understand that because life happens. But it’s the business side, that we have to make sure the personal doesn’t get in the way of the business.”
This is all in response to Brown’s tense postgame comments, in which Brown said “passing” was what the offense needs to improve on and that “there’s not too much conversation” between him and Hurts during the game.
“I made a mistake and I assumed that it was something that it wasn’t,” Graham told ESPN. “I just want to win so bad that I don’t just want to use the media when we need to talk about something and we can fix the problem ourselves. I didn’t add to it in a good light, so that’s my bad. I just assumed, and it made me out to look even worse because I had it all wrong and now people are going to run with that part. I really just want to win, man, and I want brothers to be able to just hash it out.”
A.J. Brown remained untargeted until late in the second quarter. Although, as his nickname “Always Open” suggests, he was wide open on multiple occasions for what could have been explosive plays, the ball didn’t go his way. Asked what was missing in the passing game, fellow wide receiver DeVonta Smith said, “Being on the same page.”
The reason the passing game has been neglected is that the Eagles have relied heavily on MVP contender Saquon Barkley and a ground game that ranks No. 1 in rushing attempts (473) and yards (190.5 per game). The flip side is that they are dead last in passing attempts (328) and have not established much of a rhythm through the air.
With so many things going right for the Eagles this season, Graham said his intent was to ensure the team was handling its business the right way. “I wasn’t trying to be divisive. I just didn’t want us to use the media in a bad way,” Graham said. “And that starts with me too. I can’t do that, either. If I’ve got something, I’ve got to go to the people too, instead of just feeding it like I did.”
