Following the Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles were working on a repeat.
Ultimately, they came up short by losing in the Wild Card round against the San Francisco 49ers.
What turned out to be a drama-filled season full of ups and downs resulted in some jobs getting lost and key players leaving the organization. The Eagles’ offense will be run by the first-time Offensive Coordinator, Sean Mannion. Meanwhile, the star wide receiver AJ Brown will suit up for the New England Patriots.
With Brown officially moving on from the Eagles, the star wideout gave his honest admission on the 2025 struggles and failures.
AJ Brown Gets Honest On Eagles’ Failed 2025 NFL Season
GettyA.J. Brown #11 during his Philadelphia Eagles tenure.
“I think the expectations that we placed upon ourselves became too much,” Brown admitted during a sit-down interview with Maria Taylor.
“It’s like you have to understand this city–this city expects you to win every single year, and rightfully so. That’s what we work for, but the expectations that we drilled in our brain, it’s like we have to win. We have to win, and you can become so overly focused, and you start pressing, and I think this team just started to do that over a period of time.”
A few years before Brown arrived in Philadelphia, the Eagles were crowned champions and believed they could be the NFL’s next dynasty after taking down the Patriots, who were led by the legendary Tom Brady.
Ultimately, the plans fell flat. The Eagles remained good for some time, but not good enough. Eventually, key members of the 2017 run parted ways with the organization.
When the Eagles got AJ Brown in 2022, they were back on the Super Bowl stage, facing a dynasty in the Kansas City Chiefs. After losing the big game, the Eagles were one-and-done in the playoffs the following year.
A hungry Eagles team was back in the Super Bowl for the 2024 season, and they got their revenge on the Chiefs. History repeated itself, though.
“The noise that came with it, because everybody’s expecting it, and you can try to deny it all you want to, we’re the defending champs and we said it all year that we’re not defending nothing, but we are,” Brown added.
“It was a conversation that we spoke about in the locker room, and we said what needed to be said in the media, but it didn’t go away because that was always the mission. The mission should have been giving it your all each and every day and let the chips fall where they may, because you can’t control the outcome.”
AJ Brown Takes Accountability For His Part
GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – OCTOBER 22: A.J. Brown #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts to a play during the second half of a game against the Miami Dolphins at Lincoln Financial Field on October 22, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Throughout the 2025 NFL season, AJ Brown generated a lot of additional noise around the Eagles based on his social media activity.
The subliminal posts became a storyline in itself, which is something that Brown addressed for the final time after the trade.
“Not every moment I can say I handled it the best way,” Brown admitted. “Especially the ones on social media, that was wrong. [I am taking] accountability for that.”
When it comes to the actual behind-the-scenes handling of the situation, though, Brown believes he had the right approach.
Being a captain on the Eagles, Brown had to speak up and be a vocal veteran, whether the situations were comfortable or not.
“We had tough conversations, we had face-to-face conversations, and we talked, and we pushed each other, and we didn’t really care who was uncomfortable,” Brown explained.
“I feel like, as a leader, sometimes that can be frowned upon from the media, but it’s always that one guy in that locker room who’s pushing guys and holding people accountable, and that was me.”
The Eagles Are Moving On
GettyA.J. Brown #11 of the Philadelphia Eagles warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 14, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The Eagles’ group of captains will inevitably change next season.
With Brown getting sent to the Patriots as he desired, it’s no longer his responsibility to speak up and play his part.
Perhaps, the Eagles will be better off without the off-field noise his presence and activity brought in 2025.