Brown was seen reading 'Inner Excellence' on the sideline
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Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni came to the defense of wide receiver A.J. Brown over criticism toward him for reading a book on the sideline during Sunday’s playoff game.
Brown was seen reading "Inner Excellence" by Jim Murphy and explained after the game he always reads the book to help his mental focus. Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers was just the first time the cameras caught him doing so.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni leaves the field after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Sirianni called out the critics in an interview on Sports Radio 94 WIP.
"I'm definitely OK with it," he said Tuesday. "The crazy thing is, he's been reading this book on the sideline for a long time. It just so happened a camera saw it this week. Some guys pray in between, some guys mediate in between. A.J. reads in between.
"Whatever these guys need to do to put their mind in a place where they can play with great detail and great effort, I fully encourage them to do that. I love A.J. He's such a great teammate. I saw Jahan Dotson said something defending A.J. and I thought that was awesome too. Another example of our teammates defending each other.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, #11, during warmups against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Dec. 29, 2024. (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)
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"We don't do any research, and we jump to a conclusion of, 'Oh he must be disgruntled.' That to me is lazy. Everyone needs to figure out why he's doing it before they jump to judgment on the man. Because the man, A.J. Brown is a great, great, great person. The man A.J. Brown is the best receiver—and I'll say it without hesitation—the best receiver that this city has ever seen...It's hard for me to watch when people are getting on him without doing the proper research of who the man is and what he's doing in the first place."
Brown’s reading escapade helped the book jump to the top of Amazon’s bestsellers list over the course of the night. All of that on top of the win over the Packers.
The Eagles could probably use a little bit more from Brown on the field. He had one catch for 10 yards in the game. He has not had more than five catches since Dec. 22.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, #11, celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Dec. 22, 2024. (Peter Casey-Imagn Images)
Philadelphia will welcome the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round game on Sunday.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
