Not every brand partnership makes sense the moment you hear it. This one did. When DUDE Wipes, a brand built on boldness, humor, and the unapologetic confidence to market bathroom products like a lifestyle brand, came to EssentiallySports for a Q1 campaign, the alignment was immediate. This time it was the Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens who stole the show with his cameo and had an exclusive interaction about the league’s current status and the AJ Brown drama.

On paper, Brown closed the 2025 season with over 1,000 receiving yards under his name. But in contrast, the wideout has been vocal about his frustration with limited targets and an Eagles offense that leaned heavily on defense and special teams to stay afloat. Now that the season is in the books, Owens, who also played for the Eagles, has stepped in to add context to Brown’s frustration while also laying out what Brown needs to do to help Philly win. Below are the serio

Q: Do you have any advice for AJ Brown?

“No, AJ’s my guy, and respectfully, I mean, he knows he has to play better in order for that team to win,” Owens said in an exclusive sit-down with EssentiallySports. But again, the things that he alluded to early on in the beginning of the season, they were winning, but they weren’t winning the way that they should have been winning.”

He went on.

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“So, I think it kind of cost them late into the season and into the playoffs. The same thing that plagued them, that he kind of gave people the light bulb, so to speak, to go off on, like what was going on with the offense, even though they were winning.”

After getting their hands on the Vince Lombardi trophy in the 2024 season with one of the most effective offensive displays in recent years, the Eagles stumbled hard this year. Even though the end-of-season stat line doesn’t ring the alarm bells, the chemistry between quarterback Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown was a shadow of its former self.

The Eagles started the year 4-1, but they were all one-score wins, and the cracks were evident throughout that run. Quarterback Jalen Hurts could only rack up 7 touchdowns in those five games, and AJ Brown recorded just 17 receptions and 1 score. Part of that might’ve been the OC changes year after year, according to Owens.

“I know Jalen has had a new coordinator pretty much damn near every year he’s been at quarterback. So, that has really kind of factored into the lack of success that they had this cause they didn’t have the same coordinator.”

For context, after five games, the Eagles ranked near the bottom of the league across several offensive categories:

• Yards: 261.6 per game (30th)
• Passing yards: 161.8 per game (31st)
• Rushing yards: 99.8 per game (25th)
• Rushing success rate: 43.0% (13th)
• EPA/play: -0.03 (18th)
• EPA/pass: -0.09 (23rd)
• EPA/rush: +0.04 (6th)

The lack of adaptation was evident. The offense had stretches where it seemed to work but shut down after a point, and the chemistry between Hurts and Brown kept fading.

Amidst everything that went wrong for AJ Brown, Owens believes he needs to take accountability for his display.

“He (Brown) has to take accountability for his play,” Owens added. “But the way that things kind of shape up when you talk about being efficient on offense, having dynamic receivers like him and Devonte Smith, but overall, I think the offensive coordinator and how they scheme and put guys in position to succeed, that’s what kind of put them decision of not succeeding like they should have and duplicating last year’s success.”

There were reports of Brown and other teammates growing impatient with Hurts midseason, and The Athletic’s NFL correspondent Dianna Russini reported that tension had grown inside the building surrounding the quarterback. Regardless, AJ Brown held himself and the entire offseason accountable during the year.

“It’s not just solely about my situation,” Brown said mid-season. “I want to win, too. I think if we’re really focused on winning and doing our job, we can’t just keep slapping a Band-Aid over the defense doing their job and getting us out of trouble. At what point are we going to pick up our slack as an offense? That’s what I’m getting at.

Brown did see more playtime towards the second half of the season, which contributed to his 1,000-yard season, but the miscommunication was evident in most games. If it weren’t for the defense that conceded only 19.1 points this season, they might not have even made it to the playoffs. Regardless, Owens said that Brown shouldn’t be the only one facing the heat.

“Everybody wants to put a lot of onus and responsibility on AJ Brown and the passing game itself. But look at Saquon Barkley; he didn’t have nearly the production that he had the year before. And all of that is due to your offensive coordinators, new schemes, and new everything.”

Now, with yet another new OC for next season in Sean Mannion, there will be another period of adaptation for AJ Brown, Jalen Hurts, and the entire offense.

Terrell Owens reveals his WR clone

There aren’t many receivers who have been able to replicate what Terrell Owens produced during his career. Spanning 15 years, with stops with the 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills, and the Bengals, Owens racked up 685 receptions for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns, along with 6× Pro Bowl nods, 5× First-Team All-Pro, and Hall of Fame honors.

Still, he has someone in mind who reminds him of everything he was. We asked him,

Q. Pick one receiver who reminds you of you in your prime.

“Closely, it would probably be Julio Jones. DK Metcalf and AJ Brown, obviously, they fit the mold, big receivers. Um, but when you think about just running every route in the route tree, being able to be a playmaker, not only a playmaker, but being a game changer, that’s the difference.”

The two worked together during the 2018 offseason, so Owens got a first-hand look at what Jones was capable of. The former Falcons receiver might not have had the greatest ending to his 12-year career after leaving the team in 2020, but he did enough for Owens to call him his clone.

Despite suffering more than 30 injuries in his career, Jones hung up his cleats as a 7x Pro Bowler, 5x All-Pro, with 914 receptions for 13,703 yards, almost matching Owens’ production. Of course, it’s not just about the consistency and stat lines, and Owens focused on another important characteristic: aesthetics.

“As far as physical aesthetics, AJ Brown and DK Metcalf—like I said, obviously AJ Brown won the Super Bowl. So again, for the rest of their career, it’s left up to them as to where they want to take it,” he added.

Terrell Owens believes the Eagles can make the postseason in 2026

Terrell Owens spent his NFL career with multiple teams, but the final stretch came with the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Still, when weighing recent successes and failures and looking at where both rosters currently stand, Owens believes the Eagles have a far better chance of reaching the postseason next season than the Cowboys.

“I mean, obviously the needle will have to lean toward the Eagles,” he said. “I mean, they’ve been to two Super Bowls for the last five years. Cowboys struggling to do anything for two decades. So, if I had to pick one or the other, I’m going to the Eagles all day.”

Undoubtedly, it’s not hard to understand Owens’ reasoning. Yes, the Eagles dealt with offensive struggles this season. But they’ve still reached two Super Bowls and won one over the past five years. The Cowboys, meanwhile, haven’t won a championship in nearly three decades, let alone a Super Bowl. Whether that finally changes in 2026 or Owens’ prediction holds is something only time will tell.