Eagles' A.J. Brown Says He's 'Not Hurt,' Explains 1-Catch Game in Win vs. Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles star wideout A.J. Brown offered more clarity on his one-catch, one-target performance in Week 1, noting that the Dallas Cowboys rolled coverages his way to mitigate his impact.

"I know I'm in the game because the coverage is being rotated to me every single play," he told reporter Jordan Schultz. "Even if it's underneath catches to Dallas Goedert or Jahan Dotson getting his one-on-one opportunity, making the big grab in the post, that's how I know I'm still in this game and I'm still affecting this game regardless if I'm touching the ball or not.

"I'm still making the impact on the game. As a receiver it is tough because you want to touch the ball, wanna feel like you're contributing. So that was tough, but I tried to do a really good job of staying locked in and staying ready. I've seen a lot of stuff on the Internet, zero separation, heard I'm a decoy... all that. Which is crazy because none of those things are true. I got zoned the entire game, I didn't get one single man [coverage] rep. So there won't be any separation, obviously. I'm not hurt and I'm not a decoy. Just kinda how the game went. Just know I'm excited for Week 2."

The Eagles present defenses with a number of conundrums. If they stack the box to slow down Saquon Barkley and the run game, as the Kansas City Chiefs attempted to do in last year's Super Bowl, Jalen Hurts can take advantage of one-on-one coverage on the outside with talented receivers in Brown and DeVonta Smith.

If teams focus on stopping the deep throws down the field, it opens up the run game, underneath routes to Goedert, or creates scrambling lanes for Hurts. Spy Hurts, and you lose a player in coverage.

It's a pick-your-poison situation, and the Eagles have become very good at identifying which antidotes you didn't prepare. The Cowboys had a good plan against Barkley (18 carries for 60 yards) and Brown, so Hurts routinely beat them after breaking the pocket (14 rushes for 62 yards and two scores) and leaned heavily on Goedert (seven catches for 44 yards) and the underneath passing game.

Poison was administered, thanks to Brown attracting so much attention.