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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Eagles receiver A.J. Brown addressed the root of his recent frustrations Wednesday and pushed back at speculation that he has an issue with coach Nick Sirianni.
“People say I’m beefing with Nick,” Brown said. “I’m not mad at Nick, I’m not mad at nobody. We have a great relationship.
“We’re riding with Nick. We’re riding with [offensive coordinator] Brian [Johnson]. We just have to come out and play ball.”
Brown declined to speak to the media after the Eagles’ past two games — a shaky win against the Giants on Christmas Day followed by Sunday’s upset defeat to a 12-loss Cardinals team that delivered a blow to Philadelphia’s chances of winning the NFC East.
Brown was seen shaking his head as the offense faltered late against Arizona and told reporters he had “nothing to say” after the game before walking out of the locker room.
“Like I said after the game, I was raised that if I have nothing nice to say I’m not going to say nothing at all,” Brown said Wednesday. “So I’m not just about to compound the negative with the negative so you guys can write more negative stuff.
“And then on top of that, everything that I do, if I say something, if I do anything, I’m classified as a monster. And it’s honestly the opposite. You saw my frustration on the field — it wasn’t about the playcall, it wasn’t about none of that. It was about my guy [DeVonta Smith] getting banged up. I’m going to need Smitty moving forward. That was it.”
Smith was injured on Philadelphia’s second-to-last drive while blocking on a screen to Kenneth Gainwell on third-and-long. The play came up well short of the first-down marker, the Eagles settled for a field goal and Arizona drove the length of the field for the game-winning touchdown.
Smith sprained his ankle on the play and was in a walking boot and on crutches after the game, but he was seen walking without a limp in the locker room Wednesday.
Brown said he addressed his teammates this week and apologized for making them speak on his behalf during the roughly two-week period he declined to talk.
“It was on his heart, so he did what he felt was right,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “We’re always going to support whatever it is he feels and any other player feels.”
The Eagles (11-5), who have lost four of their past five games following a 10-1 start, need to beat the Giants in Sunday’s regular-season finale and have the Cowboys (11-5) lose to the last-place Commanders in order to capture the division. Otherwise, Philadelphia likely will play on the road in the wild-card round of the playoffs as the No. 5 seed.
“I want to win, and I’m doing everything in my power to win,” Brown said. “I wake up before the sun comes up, I go home hours after the sun goes down.
“This is our life. We dedicate our whole entire life to this s—. It’s serious to us, and it comes with frustration because if one man goes the wrong way a half-inch the play is over, it doesn’t work. … That’s why it’s the greatest game it is today because it takes all 11 to be on the same page.
“Honestly man, I don’t even ask for the ball during the game … but if a wide receiver says anything, he’s classified as a diva, he just wants the ball. Nah, maybe I’m holding my teammates accountable, like we have these tough conversations. But if a quarterback does it, don’t nobody say nothing. But if a receiver does it, then it’s the end of the world.”
