‘When it rains, it pours’: A.J. Brown was at his absolute best against Washington

It took four games into the regular season, but A.J. Brown finally reached the end zone as the wide receiver asserted his dominance — nine catches, 175 receiving yards, two touchdowns — and catapulted the Eagles to a 34-31 win over the Washington Commanders.

Sunday marked Brown’s second consecutive game with 100-plus receiving yards, while the Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts took the passing game to another level.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Jalen Hurts comes through with his best game in the overtime victory

“A.J. and Jalen — that’s probably their best game to date through the air,” team captain and center Jason Kelce said. “We needed it. … I was pretty freaking pumped up.”

Throughout a back-and-forth slugfest, Brown continued to deliver haymakers. He primarily directed them toward Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who was tasked with defending Brown for a majority of the contest. The two players jawed early and often, but it was Brown, along with wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who had the final laugh.

“They gave the young boul a lot of respect, man,” Brown said of Forbes. “He started following me. It was like one-on-one most of the time. So [the Commanders coaches] gave him a lot of respect coming into the game.”

During both of Brown’s touchdown catches, he left Forbes in his shadow with a pair of double moves that created enough separation for Hurts to toss him floaters down the sideline. On his first score, Brown beat Forbes, hauled in the pass from Hurts, evaded safety Darrick Forrest, and rumbled downfield for a 59-yard touchdown. The Eagles circled Forbes — a first-round draft pick out of Mississippi State who has developed an early reputation for his traits as a ballhawk — on their game plan.

“We saw a corner that was aggressive,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “We took an opportunity there and it worked. Jalen and A.J. made a great play.”

Since Brown was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft, he leads the NFL with a 16.2-yard receiving average. He also ranks first in the NFL in 50-plus yard receptions (14) and 50-plus-yard receiving touchdowns (nine) during that span. Those traits were on full display in Week 4.

“He’s phenomenal,” Smith said of Brown. “Like he says, ‘when it rains, it pours.’ He’s amazing. Seeing the work he puts in every day — he expects to go out there and dominate, and that’s what he did today.”

Brown’s second touchdown occurred with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. On a similar route concept, Brown executed a stutter-step before reaching the top of his route, which froze Forbes and allowed Hurts to find Brown near the right corner of the end zone.

Immediately following the catch, though, Brown celebrated and tossed the football in front of Forbes, causing officials to penalize him for taunting. The costly penalty came back to bite the Eagles as the Commanders received ideal field position on the ensuing kickoff, and quarterback Sam Howell conducted a game-tying drive before kicker Jake Elliott sealed the victory in overtime.

After Brown retreated to the sideline at the conclusion of the sequence, Hurts approached him on the bench and delivered a message to the star receiver.

“Jalen brought it to my attention, he told me on the sideline, I can’t do that,” Brown said. “He was holding me accountable. I need to go celebrate with my teammates because … it’s never about the opponent.”

Brown’s big-time moments in front of 69,879 fans at Lincoln Financial Field capped an eventful weekend after he celebrated the first birthday of his son, Arthur Brown Jr., just two days earlier.

With the victory, the Eagles improved to 4-0. They are one of just two undefeated NFL teams remaining, alongside the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a similar hot start to last season, and Philadelphia is 4-0 for just the seventh time in franchise history.

But Brown insists the perfect record isn’t a topic of conversation inside the locker room.

“This experience is everything,” Brown said. “We’re learning and growing and challenging each other each and every day. Because we know what we’re capable of. This team is hungry. We want to do it, we feel that.

“Every week is going to be a challenge, and we’ve got to be ready for it.”