Eagles’ A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith feed off each other’s energy, combine for a big day against the Bears
Brown had another career day and Smith made key catches as the Eagles' wide receiving duo came through for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles in their 25-20 win in Chicago.
CHICAGO — Early on, the frigid temperatures Sunday at Soldier Field had the Eagles at times flustered and out of sync. Through the first 27 minutes of the first half, the Eagles scored just three points and had just 99 yards of total offense.
On a third-and-3 from the Eagles’ 38-yard line, quarterback Jalen Hurts made a subtle check at the line of scrimmage. That resulted in a 38-yard completion to DeVonta Smith on a slot fade in a drive later capped off by a 22-yard Hurts touchdown run. It gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead heading into halftime.
Later in the game, on third-and-6 from the Eagles’ 29, Hurts found A.J. Brown down the right sideline for a 68-yard gain on a perfectly placed deep ball, also leading to a Hurts run for what turned out to be the winning touchdown in their 25-20 win.
When big plays needed to be made, the wide receiver duo came through for Hurts and the Eagles offense.
“I feel like me and Jalen got off to a slow start in the first half, but as we picked up in the second half, we started to get going,” Brown said.
“My DB was taking away inside leverage, he would not let me get inside [all game], so we said, ‘We’ve got to start taking some shots’ and start taking advantage of what they were giving. ... The wind was blowing really hard, so it was making our job really difficult.”
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Taking advantage of what the Bears defensive backs were giving paid off in the end, with Smith and Brown combining for 307 of Hurts’ 315 total passing yards. It was also a career day for Brown, who broke his previous career high with 181 yards on nine receptions matched up with Bears defensive back Jaylon Johnson, for whom Brown says he has a lot of respect.
Smith finished with 126 yards for his third 100-yard receiving game this season and the most yards since his 169 in the Eagles’ Week 3 win over the Washington Commanders.
Catches of 45 yards on the third drive and 38 yards on the fifth drive both led to scoring opportunities, which Smith credits to how well Hurts saw the Bears coverage pre-snap.
“Same thing as last week, great check by my quarterback, and he checked the play and we executed,” Smith said of the slot fade throw. “It started with him seeing the coverage.”
Even in the Eagles’ 19-play drive that spanned more than eight minutes and resulted in a missed 38-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, Smith converted third-and-10 with his catch-and-run of 14 yards on a screen, then nabbed an 8-yard curl route catch to move the chains a few plays later.
The momentum gained from Smith’s playmaking ability gave time to get his running mate Brown involved in the latter stages of the game, another example of how they feed off each other’s energy.
“They brought [Brown] in to do the things he did today — the energy he brings to the team, it brings the best out of everybody, so just going out there and being the best version of ourselves, making the most of our opportunities and making them big-time plays,” Smith said.
“Just being able to learn from a guy like him, great receiver, great leader, great guy overall, so him coming in, teaching me some things, allowed me to elevate my game.”
Said Brown: “It’s good, especially for games down the road because it’s going to be tough and it’s going to take everybody, so even when I’m not playing my best at the time, DeVonta can pick up the slack and vice versa.”
On Brown’s 68-yard catch, he said he had a two-way go on the route depending on the defender’s leverage, with the choice of converting the route into a deep out on off-coverage or a vertical route with press man coverage. The latter happened, allowing for Hurts and Brown to connect on the deep ball.
It’s something both attribute to the work they did in the offseason together.
“I don’t make it more than what it is; I think we work really hard, a lot of time put in that nobody sees, a lot of energy put into this game, a lot of sacrifices made into what we do,” Hurts said.
Said Brown of a late fourth-quarter catch: “He’s throwing to a spot, and it’s our job to make room for him and try not to get walled to the sideline, so I was already in a cut split and it made my job easier. ... I was able to run under it.”
While Brown finished with a career day, he added that he should have had “300 yards” against the Bears with the missed opportunities the offense left on the field.