The Philadelphia Eagles were without leading wide receiver AJ Brown on Monday night and his absence was felt in the team's 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
However, the Eagles had several pass catchers step up in his place.
"Obviously, he’s one of the best receivers in the league. Of course he’s definitely missed, but it doesn’t change the trust that I have in everybody else to step up," Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said postgame. "I think we had, you know, guys step up in a big way. [Eagles WR Britain] Covey made some great plays out there. [Eagles WR DeVonta Smith] made plays. We just didn’t meet the moment in terms of it wasn’t for us tonight.”
Brown, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, is expected to miss a "couple" of weeks . In his absence, DeVonta Smith and Britain Covey were targeted the most.
Covey was the more surprising top target as he finished the night with six catches for 23 yards.
Freshley acquired wideout Jahan Dotson had only one catch for six yards while rookie Johnny Wilson had none.
"It’s just a lot of time on task working with [Eagles WR Britain Covey], and, you know, conversations and reps, his approach, his intentionality in what he does," Hurts explained why he sought out Covey. "And you know, he showed up for us, and we’ll need him to continue to do that. And I think the most important thing is everybody is focused and doing their jobs to help the team win. And, as I said before, to do that, you just have to learn from everything. You have to learn from your mistakes. And we will, we’ll be better from it.”
How the Eagles adjust without Brown moving forward remains to be seen, but they have to figure it out fast since they place again on Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Saints.
“I think that’s a [Eagles Offensive Coordinator] Kellen [Moore] question, and I trust him with everything as we continue to build this and find our rhythm and build our rapport with one another," Hurts said. "But in the end, you know, guys had an opportunity to step up, and I think guys did that. We’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better. But I feel like we went out there and played really hard, we just didn’t take advantage of some opportunities.”
Related: Nick Sirianni addresses his game-losing decision to pass the ball to Saquon Barkley on third down
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