September 14, 2022
New star wideout A.J. Brown balled out in his Eagles debut, going for 10 catches and 155 receiving yards in a Week 1 win over the Lions. Now, Brown prepares for his first game in front of a raucous Eagles crowd at Lincoln Financial Field, a Monday Night Football affair with the Vikings. He's ready for those vibes and discussed it on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" on Wednesday.
Nothin' but love.@gmfb | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/DN4ADuZkCw
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 14, 2022
"It's been love ever since I got here. It's been love. I appreciate them so much. They've been rocking with me as soon as I got here. I just want to let my play do the talking for me and show the love back. So any chance I get to show love back to the fans, I'm gonna do so. It's a special place. These are very passionate fans. I can't wait to play Monday in the Linc. I know it's going to be rocking on Monday night."
He's right. The Eagles haven't played a meaningful home game since Week 16 against the Giants last year, a 34-10 Eagles win that saw Lane Johnson catch his first career touchdown. The Linc went ballistic over that. Now imagine what happens if Jalen Hurts dials up a deep ball for Brown on the Eagles' first offensive drive on Monday for a touchdown. The earth won't quite be shaking like it did during Patrick Robinson's iconic pick-6 against the Vikings back in January 2018, but that energy would be felt through the streets of South Philadelphia.
As I've written a couple of times this week, Brown is the most talented Eagles wide receiver since Terrell Owens himself. The fan base has been starved for players as good as that. They'll finally have a chance to see him in person under the bright lights on Monday night.
I'm not saying that Browns is a top-five receiver in NFL history, but this statistical comparison to Calvin Johnson is eye popping 👀:
First 44 career games:
— Hard Rock Sportsbook (@HardRockSB) September 12, 2022
AJ Brown Megatron
195 Rec 187
3,150 Rec Yds 2,985
24 Rec TD 20
16.2 Yds/Rec 16.0 pic.twitter.com/vgbwrcA0JC
If you need an afternoon pick-me-up, maybe that can get you more amped than your third cup of coffee.
• On The Ringer's weekly updated quarterback rankings, Jalen Hurts is 21st, the same spot he was before the season. Seahawks QB Geno Smith, 22nd before the season, jumped Hurts and is now 20th. That's... something.
• Going by the betting markets, the Eagles are one of the top contenders in the NFL in 2022:
With 1 week of games in the books and 2 weeks of lines available (weeks 2 and 3), here's how good betting markets think your favorite team is pic.twitter.com/Mzu1RhFL1L
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) September 14, 2022
That "4.4" number next to the Eagles' logo is how many points the Birds would be favored by against an "average" NFL opponent. They're behind the Bills (7.8) and the Chiefs (6.6). Coincidentally, they're one spot ahead of the Vikings team (4.3) they'll be facing on Monday.
The Eagles have nine games remaining against the teams in the "Not Looking Good" and "Watching College QBs" tiers.
• In his ranking of the top-10 teams in the NFL on Tuesday, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd had the Eagles eighth:
10. Denver Broncos
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 13, 2022
9.
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3. Minnesota Vikings
2.
1.@ColinCowherd counts down his Top 10 NFL teams after Week 1 pic.twitter.com/uXkMLZefjg
Cowherd has the Vikings all the way up in the third spot. That's bold! A huge matchup awaits on Monday between the Birds and Minnesota. Tuesday's mood in the city will be either on the extreme of cocky or distraught with no middle ground.
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