Brown didn’t have Super feeling in gut
PHILADELPHIA >> A 17-play drive left the Eagles at the Kansas City 15 with 16:48 left in the Super Bowl Sunday, and at that point A.J. Brown just tried to do was ignore a familiar sensation. But when Jake Elliott connected on a 33-yard field goal, a haunting vision would return.
“The previous year, in Tennessee, we had the ball last with a chance to get to overtime or to win,” Brown was saying Tuesday. “We threw an interception. And I had that same feeling in my gut.”
Though the field goal gave the Eagles a 27-21 lead, Brown began to worry if the Eagles were on their way to a championship. A threepoint lead, he sensed, would not be enough against the Kansas City offense.
“Playing against Patrick Mahomes, he was doing everything right,” Brown said. “And he put his team in a great position to win. He did a great job all game. So that’s why.”
Brown’s premonition proved correct when Mahomes answered with touchdown drives on his following two possessions. The Eagles did rally to force a tie at 35, but a third fourth-quarter scoring drive resulted in a Harrison Butker field goal, good for a 38-35 lead and a Lombardi Trophy.
While there were multiple difference-making moments in the game, none touched Brown more than that Eagles’ inability to lead by more than six points late in the third quarter.
“When we went up, 27-21, I knew, deep down, it was probably a chance we were going to lose,” Brown said. Asked if it was because the drive ended in a field goal, not a touchdown, he replied, “Uh-huh.”
Including a 45-yard touchdown reception from Jalen Hurts, Brown made six catches for 96 yards. But he was not satisfied with the way his Pro Bowl season — his first with the Eagles — ended.
“I was kind of dreading this interview,” he said. “It’s tough right now.” He added, “I’ve gotten up from the mat every single time in my life, 100 percent. I’m still here. It’s just another time. You’ve got to keep going.”
Hurts hardly has played his last game as an Eagle. He almost certainly, however, has played his last game under his four-year rookie contract.
With everything from being hit with a franchise tag to playing out
the rookie deal possible, the most likely scenario is that he agrees to a lengthy and pricey extension long before training camp.
“The thing I am most focused on is winning and ultimately winning a championship,” he said. “So there will be a day when that conversation can be had, but today isn’t that day.”
Without officially saying goodbye, James Bradberry likely left the NovaCare Complex for the final time Tuesday. The 29-yearold cornerback was on a one-year deal with the Eagles and had an
All-Pro season, and he is likely to cost more than the Eagles will be willing to spend for him to return.
Just the same, Bradberry left a small window open, just in case Howie Roseman can arrange the necessary funding.
“Hopefully we will be in contact soon,” he said. Asked if he would like to return, he replied, “Yeah, I like playing here, so it’s definitely a possibility that I return.”
The Eagles’ coaching staff is being raided, with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon heading to Arizona to coach the Cardinals and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen taking the head-coaching job in Indianapolis.
Hurts figures it’s what happens when a team has success.
“It’s a good problem to have,” the quarterback said. “I give a lot of credit to Coach Steichen for what he has been to me these last three years, the things he has taught me. As a motivator, as a leader, as a coach, as an O.C., he’s been the world to us. When you win, you want to give others the opportunity to chase dreams. That’s what he is going to do and I think he is going to do a great job in Indianapolis.”