Nick Sirianni on A.J. Brown's game and sideline spat

During the first half of the Eagles’ wild-card round loss to the 49ers, head coach Nick Sirianni and star receiver A.J. Brown got into a shouting match on the sideline that was picked up by FOX cameras.

This moment happened after Brown failed to haul in a deep pass on 3rd-and-9 late in the second quarter.

After the 23-19 loss, Sirianni explained what happened:

“Yeah, I was trying to get him off the field because we were about to punt and that was really it,” Sirianni said. “I love A.J. I think he knows how I feel about him. I have a special relationship with him. We’ve probably [gone] through every emotion you can possibly have together. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, we’ve yelled at each other. We’re both emotional. I was trying to get him off the field, and that happens in this game. That happens in this game, but I love him.”

Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata was with Brown as they jogged off the field before that punt. When asked what Brown said in response to Sirianni, Mailata said, “That’s not by business.”

“Nick’s just being the coach,” Mailata said. “We gotta show some urgency to get off the field so we can get to a punt. That’s all that was.”

Brown declined to speak to reporters in the locker room after the loss. He shook hands and hugged many of his teammates before leaving.

It was a disappointing season for Brown that was filled with plenty of drama along the way. In Sunday’s game, Brown caught 3 of 7 targets for just 25 yards and had a few uncharacteristic drops.

Sirianni was asked about those drops on Sunday.

“He’s got the best hands I’ve ever seen,” Sirianni said. “The way he catches the ball, the amount of different types of catches that he’s made. When you get as many targets as he does, you’re going to have some drops. Not ever using an excuse, but the ball moves differently in the wind. 

“I thought Jalen did a good job of cutting the wind a lot of times, but yeah, we had some uncharacteristic drops. I think the one that he had, we overcame it the very next play with Dallas [Goedert]. But yeah, I know he will beat himself up on that. I know A.J. He’ll catch 9,000 balls with the one drop that he had.”

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