A.J. Brown sends message to NFL with three-TD performance, receiver far from satisfied after career day

Brown more focused on missed opportunities than career day

By Jeff Kerr

Oct 30, 2022 at 7:51 pm ET • 3 min read

USATSI

PHILADELPHIA -- Jalen Hurts always believes there's food left on the table in a football game. A.J. Brown may have left a smorgasbord.

Brown shook his head at the missed opportunities in Sunday's dominant victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and this was during a three-touchdown performance where Brown showcased his superiority over the competition. The Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver set his career high in touchdown catches, but he could have finished with a few more.

"I could have had an even better day," Brown said as he was breaking down his performance. "I'm really kind of upset right now. There's definitely room for improvement ... I'm always trying to get a bigger bag."

Brown had an afternoon not seen from an Eagles pass catcher in quite some time, finishing with six catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns. He's the first Eagles player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Riley Cooper in 2013 and the first player for the franchise to have 150 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in a game since Kevin Curtis in 2007.

His touchdown catches of 39, 27, and 29 yards made him the first Eagles player to have three touchdown catches of 25-plus yards in a game since Ben Hawkins in 1969 -- or the only player since the merger to accomplish the feat.

A dominant performance, yet Brown is still looking back at the two plays that weren't scores. Brown dropped a wide-open pass from Hurts that had the potential for a 54-yard score as the Eagles wide receiver was clear in the middle of the field. The play Brown significantly looked back on was a 43-yard catch in the fourth quarter that he took up the middle of the field and looked like he was going to run past the Steelers defense for his fourth score of the day.

Minkah Fitzpatrick tripped up Brown at the Steelers' 11-yard line and prevented the touchdown. Brown laid on the ground for a few seconds realizing the missed opportunity, being helped up to a thunderous applause from the Philly faithful.

"My teammates gave me a hard time for that," Brown said. "I definitely felt like I was gonna score. Minkah did a good job of sweeping my legs and bringing me down, but I was upset. I think that's the first time I got caught in the NFL, so my teammates let me hear about it."

Brown got the last laugh, however, as Zach Pascal got caught trying to score on a 23-yard reception late in the game with the victory in hand. Pascal had two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown -- a 34-yard score that put the Eagles in full command of the game early in the third quarter -- benefitting from what a dominant performance by Brown means for the entire offense.

"I got out to a hot start. They were gonna start doubling me and they did, so it was another opportunity for someone else," Brown said. "And I don't mind that at all. I just know whenever I get the opportunity to go where I want, I got to make the most of it."

Brown has 39 catches for 659 yards and five touchdowns through seven games, the most receiving yards for any Eagles player since Terrell Owens in 2005. He's one of just five players in franchise history to have 650 receiving yards through seven games.

There's still opportunity for more as Brown is getting comfortable with his new team. In a week where Philadelphia looks to celebrate a world championship and have a parade down Broad Street, Brown was happy to get the fireworks going early -- taunting the Steelers defensive backs as he caught his third score of the game.