LANDOVER, Md. — Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown set an NFL record for most consecutive games with 125-plus receiving yards (6) in Sunday’s 38-31 win over the Washington Commanders.
Finishing with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns, he broke a tie with Pat Studstill (1966) and Calvin Johnson (2012), the former Detroit Lions great.
“He’s got some of the strongest hands I’ve played against in the league. One dude I knew that had strong hands was Calvin. He attacks the ball just like Calvin used to do,” said cornerback Darius Slay, who was teammates with Johnson in Detroit. “It’s mind-blowing that I’m seeing someone else do the same thing. He’s doing some crazy s— right now.”
Brown channeled his inner Megatron for his first touchdown against the Commanders — a one-handed snag in corner of the end zone with corner Benjamin St-Juste draped over him late in the second quarter. He added another in the third quarter, once again elevating to beat a pair of defenders to the ball. Brown had 0.7 and 0.6 yards of separation on his two touchdowns, the least on any Eagles receiving touchdown this season, according to Next Gen Stats.
“I’m proud of him as a friend and as a quarterback,” said Jalen Hurts, who finished with four touchdown passes and went 15-of-15 with three scores when targeting Brown and DeVonta Smith. “I’m proud that he’s truly invested into winning and putting team first and doing whatever he needs to do in his role to win.”
Brown has 60 catches for 939 yards through eight games. He’s on pace for a staggering 128 catches and 1,995 yards.
“I want that jersey before the NFL can get its hands on it,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “A.J. has done it better over a six-game stretch than anybody ever to play this game. That’s pretty special.”
Brown has 12 receiving touchdowns on throws 15-plus yards downfield since the start of last season, the most in the NFL in that span. He’s been among the most dominant players in the game over the first half of the season. His performance Sunday helped the Eagles overcome a slow start and multiple red-zone turnovers to top the Commanders and improve to 7-1 on the year.
Still, Brown said his performance to this point doesn’t resonate, “because I’m still working. I think there will be a time when I sit down and I’ll [reflect] and I’ll be like, ‘Go A.J.!’ But that’s not it right now. We’ve got a big matchup, we’ve got Dallas [next week] … we’ve got to clean up some stuff and go to work.”
Tim McManus
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