The Philadelphia Eagles’ attempt at back-to-back Super Bowl championships came to a crashing halt Sunday when they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round.
What was expected to be another deep playoff run instead ended in frustration and disappointment.
The main storyline exiting the game was Philadelphia’s collapse and the emotions that followed.
Emotions Boil Over as Eagles Collapse in Wild Card Loss
Wide receiver A.J. Brown had to be separated from head coach Nick Sirianni by chief security officer Dom DiSandro during a heated sideline confrontation late in the first half. Brown ripped off his helmet in frustration and continued yelling in Sirianni’s direction after the Eagles punted to end a drive.
Brown finished the night with just three catches for 25 yards.
With the offseason now underway, speculation surrounding Brown’s future is expected to ramp up. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman attempted to quiet those rumors earlier this week, stopping short of saying whether the team would consider trading Brown while still offering praise for the star receiver.
Cris Carter Points to Quarterback Play, Not A.J. Brown, as Root Issue
NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter, who spent his first three NFL seasons in Philadelphia, shared his perspective while speaking with Heavy.com via Casino.org, which helps find Kalshi promo codes. Carter is now the executive director of player engagement at Florida Atlantic University.
GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – NOVEMBER 16: Forner Minnesota Vikings player Cris Carter signs autographs prior to a game between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.”” (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
“(Brown’s) a fantastic player. He spent a lot of time working out at Florida Atlantic. No one works harder. No one cares about football more than him,” Carter said. “But sometimes you get into a situation where you can’t express yourself. There’s been a number of things the last two years that have come out of Philadelphia. But to me, the number one thing is communication with the quarterback. Everyone talks about the quarterback have all these systems over the last several years. Well those systems have affected how they throw the ball and who they are going to throw the ball to. Their offense this year is one of the worst as far as flavor, design, how they’re going to attack the defense, rhyme or reason why they are calling certain plays, very vanilla. But the fact they have the talent and the way they played last year, I don’t know if they thought their defense was going to shut everyone out and play conservative offense and win the game. But it was not a good showing compared to other coordinators we’ve seen there the last couple years. So I think that affected the quarterback, which affected A.J.’s performance.”
The Eagles parted ways with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo in recent days as they begin reshaping the offense.
Roseman has acknowledged that one concern with trading Brown is the difficulty of replacing a talent of his caliber, a sentiment Carter agrees with.
“Howie Roseman said, ‘It’s hard to find a player like him.’ That’s what he said yesterday. I agree with Howie, players like him are hard to find,” Carter said. “But Philadelphia doesn’t have a A.J. Brown, they have a locker room problem that I believe has something to do with the quarterback and how they try to protect him.”
NFL Legend: Eagles Don’t Have an A.J. Brown Problem, They Have a QB Problem