Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown leaves Eagles win over Jaguars with knee injury

A.J. Brown left Sunday’s win over Jacksonville after the first half with what the Eagles said was a knee injury. He did not return.

The Eagles, Nick Sirianni said after the game, are waiting for more information on their star receiver, who had two catches for 36 yards before halftime.

Brown returned to the field after halftime but then left to go back to the locker room before the offense took the field in the second half.

It is not clear when Brown was injured, but he got up slowly after taking a hard hit following a 16-yard reception with just under two minutes remaining in the first half. On the play, Brown crumpled over after absorbing a hit in the back. He immediately rolled over, seemingly in pain, and began to flex his leg.

“I hope he’s OK,” Sirianni said. “He’s obviously one of our best players and we missed him out there.”

With Brown out, his running mate, DeVonta Smith, stepped up. Smith had just one catch on one target in the first half but had three receptions in the second half, including two big plays during a critical fourth-quarter drive. First, Jalen Hurts hit Smith down the left sideline for a 46-yard gain. Three plays later, on a third-and-22 from Jacksonville’s 25-yard line, Hurts threw a ball to the back of the end zone that Smith caught with one hand and dragged both feet for an improbable touchdown.

“I thought DeVonta did an unbelievable job in his absence,” Sirianni said. “He got even more balls his way and he made some unreal plays.”

Brown, who led the Eagles with 408 receiving yards entering Sunday, missed three games earlier this season with a hamstring injury.

The 6-2 Eagles travel to Dallas next weekend to play a reeling 3-5 Cowboys team coming off its third straight loss. The Eagles have the firepower with Smith and Saquon Barkley to withstand a minor injury to Brown, although they are obviously at their best when Brown, one of the league’s top receivers, is healthy and playing.