The Philadelphia Eagles are officially the last undefeated team in the NFL after Week 4, the first time they’ve begun a season 4-0 since the 2004 Eagles started 7-0 and advanced to the Super Bowl.
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Wide receiver A.J. Brown played a crucial role Sunday in their fourth win, a 29-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, leading the team with 95 yards on five receptions. The Jaguars jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Eagles responded with 29 unanswered points thanks in large part to the connection between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts to AJ Brown for 13 yards pic.twitter.com/kiw1VoQJjv
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After the game, Brown told reporters he was more impressed with Sunday’s win against Jacksonville than any other this season.
“Our backs were against the wall,” he said. “We fought through adversity being down 14 early. Just fighting back. Fighting back, and that’s what it’s about in this league. They’re a really good team. … This was our best win thus far this season.”
Brown’s performance against Jacksonville is even more impressive considering the week he had. He missed two full days of practice ahead of the matchup because he was busy with the birth of his second child, A.J. Brown Jr. He returned to practice on Friday.
Brown has been in Philly for less than a year, getting traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Eagles during April’s draft in exchange for the 18th overall pick. The trade is already paying massive dividends for Philadelphia, as Brown has racked up 25 receptions for 404 yards — which ranks third in the NFL — and a touchdown through four games this season. He’s quickly becoming Hurts’ favorite target.
He was also a favorite target for quarterback Ryan Tannehill of the Titans, the franchise that drafted the now-25-year-old in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau in each of his first two seasons in Tennessee, and might have done so again last season if not for missing three games.
Throughout his time in the NFL, Brown has often put his faith on display, even while in uniform. He sports a big cross drawn in eye black under each eye for most games, and he’s been known to pray on the field.
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A place where Brown feels especially comfortable sharing his faith is on his Instagram page, where he says in his bio that he is “walking by faith.” Many of his posts reference Bible verses and his prayer life.
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Before the beginning of this season, Brown even shared during a press conference that it is God who keeps him grounded.
“I play for God,” he responded. “I don’t play for expectations of man. I play this game because God has given me the ability to play this game, and doing my best is giving my due diligence back to Him.”
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Near the end of his rookie season with the Titans, Brown told the Tennessean about Who shapes his identity.
“I’m a Christian first, before anything,” he said. “When I step out on the field, I want to say thank you for the blessing, for everything, because I don’t have to do this. I get to do this. So I always wear a cross.”
Brown plans to continue repping Christ and thanking Him, even as he seeks to help Philadelphia continue to win games. The Eagles sit a game ahead of the Giants and the Cowboys in the NFC East as they travel to Arizona this Sunday to take on the 2-2 Cardinals. The contest is set for 4:25 p.m. ET.
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