What book was A. J. Brown reading? Eagles WR goes viral during Eagles-Packers Showdown

A. J. Brown has been one of the most dominant wide receivers in recent NFL history, hitting at least a thousand yards in every season but one. He can also be somewhat eccentric, as he proved on Sunday.

During his Philadelphia Eagles' Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers, Fox's cameras caught the three-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, who had caught just a single ten-yard pass, reading a book while on the sidelines, which turned out to be Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life by Jim Murphy:

There was much ridicule once the scene spread to social media:

More of it can be seen below:

"Is he that bored?" one wondered.

"Reading up on how to catch a bounce-pass," another thought.

"Man forgot the script. Needed a refresher," another joked.

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Tom Brady lauds A. J. Brown's impact on Eagles offense despite low production

The Eagles would win the aforementioned game 22-10 despite A. J. Brown’s seeming offensive absence. They were led by Saquon Barkley, who carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards; and Dallas Goedert, who caught one of Jalen Hurts’ touchdowns as part of a four-catch, 47-yard performance.

It was a microcosm of how the seeming diminution of star wideout’s lack of output actually benefited the team, according to analyst Tom Brady:

"There is a difference between a star and a champion, and champions do whatever it takes to win."

Brown has worked alongside thousand-yarders before. In 2022, he had Miles Sanders, who had career-highs in every statistical category: 1,269 yards and eleven touchdowns on 259 carries. In 2023, he had D’Andre Swift, who had 1,049 yards on 229 carries.

At the same time, however, he was also still being very prolific, having at least 140 receptions and 1,400 yards in both those years. But Barkley’s arrival completely changed that.

2024 marked the first time since his 2019 debut that Brown did not hit at least 100 catches. His 1,079 yards were also his fewest as an Eagle, which led to highly-publicized frustrations over his diminished role and an alleged feud with quarterback Jalen Hurts.

However, those ultimately did not matter much, as the Eagles clinched the NFC East for the second time in three seasons thanks to the rushing tandem of Hurts and Barkley and a rejuvenated defense boasting first-time Pro Bowlers Jalen Carter and Zack Baun and surprisingly impressive rookie nickelback Cooper DeJean.