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The Philadelphia Eagles bounced back from an embarrassing Week 6 loss to the New York Giants with a 28-22 win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. Now the Eagles have an opportunity to avenge the loss to their division rival in a rematch with the Giants in Week 8. But Philadelphia will be missing a key offensive contributor with A.J. Brown ruled out.
The Eagles announced that Brown would not play in Sunday’s NFC East showdown due to a hamstring injury. The Pro Bowl wideout was unable to practice during the week as scar tissue caused his hamstring to tighten.
Brown’s absence is a big blow to an Eagles’ offense struggling with consistency. Fellow Philadelphia receiver DeVonta Smith acknowledged the impact of the injury. “Obviously, he’s a great player. …We’ll have to adjust [while] he’s not out there. Everybody’s going to have to be studying a little harder, guys will be moving around to different spots,” Smith said, per The Athletic’s Zach Berman.
The Eagles won their first four games this season before back-to-back losses to the Denver Broncos and Giants. Philadelphia’s offensive struggles during the mini slump caused frustration for Brown and Smith. Tensions boiled over after an ugly loss to the Giants.
Brown became the subject of trade rumors as the seventh-year wideout appeared increasingly unhappy with his role in the offense.
But then the Eagles rebounded. Jalen Hurts made sure to feature his receivers Week 7’s matchup with the Vikings. Hurts had his best game of the season, throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns. It was his first 300-yard passing game since Week 3 of 2024.
Both Brown and Smith feasted with 4/121/2 and 9/183/1 receiving lines respectively. The 183-yard performance was a career high for Smith. And Brown recorded his first multi-touchdown game since Week 8 of 2023.
Now, after the breakout, Brown is sidelined by an injury. Smith hopes to build on his phenomenal Week 7 output against the Giants Sunday.
Despite the Eagles’ passing offense garnering attention for its struggles this season, it’s actually the Eagles’ running game that has experienced the more perplexing decline.. Philadelphia went from the second-best rushing attack last season (179.3 yards per game) to the 30th-ranked run offense this year (88.1 yards per contest).
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