A.J. Brown didn’t mince words when he called the Eagles’ offense “conservative,” and his critique deserves more than a shrug from the coaching staff. Sure, Philadelphia is winning games, and there’s logic in avoiding high-risk plays. But this offense isn’t short on firepower. With Brown, Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, and Dallas Goedert on the field, the Eagles have all to strike fast and furious.

As Brown put it, the team should “let your killers do their thing and play fast and play aggressive.” The proof was on display in the second half against the Rams, when Philadelphia made a jaw-dropping comeback. Hurts, suddenly unleashed, completed 17 of 24 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns. That was a far cry from the first two-and-a-half games of the season. And now even offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo has cleared the air.

“What we did, like on the first drive, we were doing stuff on purpose. We didn’t really care what they were doing, we were going. like I said, situation a little bit was backed up. The way the kickoff played out for us, we had some different things happen.”

The first half against the Rams was sluggish for Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts managed just 4 completions on 8 attempts for 17 yards, while A.J. AJ Brown didn’t record a single catch. But the second half was a different story. Facing a 26-7 hole early in the third quarter, Hurts finally let it fly. Brown exploded with six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, while DeVonta Smith added eight receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Patullo added, “And we were really one play away from just getting out in front of it, making one first down, staying at second and long, and being perfectly on track. So we just got to continue to improve that as a staff and work through that. Those moments when they come up in the game. But no, you always want to be the aggressor, obviously.”

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has long emphasized the mantra of “players, not plays,” and the second-half fireworks underscored that point. Whether the shift came from offensive coordinator Patullo’s adjustments or Hurts’ on-field instincts is unclear, but the quarterback told FOX’s Pam Oliver after the game that Philadelphia needs to “get out of playing not to lose.” The same philosophy they carried back in 2021.

AJ Brown and Hurts lead Eagles’ comeback after early struggles

By halftime, fans were booing, frustrated with the team’s sluggish performance and Hurts’ first-half fumble. The Rams held a commanding 19-point lead in the early part of the second half, leaving the Eagles scrambling.

Hurts was visibly animated on the sideline late in the third quarter, engaging in a heated discussion with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo after a 9-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown cut Los Angeles’ lead to 26-21. When asked about the exchange postgame, Hurts was measured but telling: “It was a complete team effort. … If it meant getting out of character (in a) given a situation, it’s about doing it. Only thing we ever care about is finding a way to win the game.”

The quarterback’s response hinted at some frustration with the play-calling, which wouldn’t be surprising given his first two games yielded just 253 passing yards and no touchdowns, and even AJ Brown had expressed disappointment in the team’s offensive output.

Hurts’ best moment came late, engineering a 17-play, 91-yard drive that included critical third-down completions: a 25-yard strike to Brown and a 10-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, who capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown to give Philadelphia a 27-26 lead. Hurts finished the game 22 of 32 for 226 yards, showing that resilience hasn’t left the 27-year-old yet.