Again and again, A.J. Brown did the seemingly impossible as he entered rarefied air in the Eagles’ win at Washington

LANDOVER, Md. — A.J. Brown wears a black band around his right wrist with the biblical verse Luke 1:37 written in green:

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

It might sound trite to relate that sentiment to catching a football, but to watch Brown use that same arm to pull in a Jalen Hurts pass with one hand, secure it with the other, and drop to his knees inbounds with Washington cornerback Benjamin St-Juste pulling on his facemask is to believe that anything is possible.

But Brown’s late second-quarter 16-yard touchdown grab that helped kickstart the mistake-prone Eagles past the pesky Commanders, 38-31, on Sunday at FedEx Field didn’t surprise anyone who has worked alongside the 26-year-old wide receiver.

“I literally just did that in practice on Friday,” Brown said. “It was the same corner and everything, so my teammates were like, ‘I’m not surprised, I’m not surprised.’ I’m like, ‘But it wasn’t in a game, though.’ ”

Said Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith of Brown: “He does that every day. In walk-throughs, he goes out there and catches the ball with one hand. He doesn’t catch it with two.”

If Brown’s one-handed snag was his lone reception of the day, it still would have made headlines. But he caught all eight of his targets for 130 yards and two touchdowns and in the process became the first ever in the NFL to have six straight games with more than 125 receiving yards.

Brown isn’t just putting up career statistics through eight games — numbers that project as franchise and league records — he has made big catches in big moments for the Eagles and entered rarefied air at his position, if he wasn’t there already.

“He’s doing really impressive things,” Hurts said. “He’s playing at a very high level and being consistent. And as a friend, I know what his mentality is and where it’s coming from. It’s no surprise in the way he works, what he does in the offseason, where his mental is and his why.

“I’m proud of him as a friend and as a quarterback. I’m proud that he’s truly invested into winning and putting the team first.”

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts shows grit in victory; A.J. Brown shows incredible skills

Just a month ago, Brown faced criticism when cameras caught a brief flare-up he had with Hurts on the sideline. A few weeks later, in the first meeting with Washington, he nearly cost the Eagles when his taunting penalty following a late-game go-ahead touchdown gave the Commanders good field position on their ensuing possession.

But aside from those minor transgressions, Brown has been maybe the 7-1 Eagles’ most consistent performer.

“I think I said this after there were some questions about the penalty he had the last time we played Washington,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “There’s not a better person on our team than A.J. Brown. And there might not be a better player on our team than A.J. Brown.”

Both of Brown’s touchdowns came on drives following fumbles inside the 10-yard line — after Kenneth Gainwell coughed up the football with the Eagles trailing, 14-3, and after Hurts lost it during a “Brotherly Shove” attempt in the third quarter and the Eagles behind, 17-10.

Brown helped set up Hurts’ sneak attempt at the 1-yard line when he drew a pass interference penalty on the unfortunate St-Juste. There was also an illegal use of hands foul that was declined. But Hurts fumbled the exchange from center Jason Kelce before his tush was pushed over the goal line.

The Eagles forced a punt after the turnover. Hurts went at rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes — after a controversial fourth-down conversion in which Smith appeared to trap the ball — and Brown snared the jump ball back shoulder pass for a 25-yard touchdown to knot the score, 17-17.

Smith and the recently acquired Julio Jones handled the scoring the rest of the way once Washington finally decided to shade a safety toward Brown. Smith caught a 38-yard touchdown and the 34-year-old Jones had the go-ahead 8-yard score midway through the fourth quarter.

» READ MORE: Behind Eagles WR Julio Jones’ go-ahead touchdown: Repetition, patience, and his ‘want to’

But it was Brown’s day.

“The guy is an absolute beast,” Jones said. “It’s the way he plays the game, the way he cares, day in and day out. Just an amazing athlete, amazing talent. He’s going to be great for a while.”

Jones should know. The future Hall of Famer was the last to have more than 100 yards receiving in six straight games in 2018. Brown already has 60 catches for 939 yards and five touchdowns.

He trails only the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill — who has 61 catches for 1,014 yards and eight touchdowns — in overall production. Both are on pace to eclipse Calvin Johnson’s NFL record of 1,942 yards set in 16 games.

Brown is seeing more targets this season, but his catch rate (72.3) is 10 percentage points higher than his average in his first four seasons. New Eagles safety Kevin Byard, who played with Brown in Tennessee, said his teammate always had the ability to put up massive numbers.

He’s just getting the opportunity in the Eagles’ explosive pass offense.

“Coming from Tennessee, it was more of a run-first offense,” Byard said.

» READ MORE: Myself and Mississippi: Before the Eagles’ A.J. Brown went ‘ba-boom’ in the NFL, his light flickered in Starkville

Brown had his professional and personal struggles while with the Titans. He dealt with injuries and at one point said he had contemplated suicide. But he sought help and since then has worked on his mental health and blocking out negativity — and even excessive positivity — from his life.

“It’s not hard to block out because, honestly, I play for God,” Brown said when asked about his mindset knowing the streak record was on the table. “I don’t try to play for man. I don’t try to play for the expectations of man. I feed myself the only positive thoughts I need to feed myself. I removed myself from social media. I know people come up and tell you, but you got to be humble in this game.

“You got to come out and prove it each and every week.”

He said he won’t stop to relish his accomplishment.

“Not yet, because I’m still working,” Brown said. “I think there’ll be a time when I sit around and I’m like, ‘Go, A.J.’ But it’s not it right now. We got a big matchup [with] Dallas. From what I hear, they had a good game.

“We got to clean up some stuff and we’ve got to go to work. It’s going to be a war.”

The Eagles have a chance to distance themselves from the 5-2 Cowboys. They’ve seemingly done so in terms of overall talent. But in this NFC East rivalry — as Brown knows — nothing is impossible.