Philadelphia’s WR1 admits he wants those dropped passes back; Eagles wish they had them too.

Let’s not twist it, quarterback Jalen Hurts was flat-out dreadful Monday night, turning the ball over five times in the Eagles’ overtime loss to Los Angeles. But he wasn’t alone. Hurts had little help from his Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown, who authored three costly drops, two of them likely touchdowns.

The tone  was established on the first play of the game. The Eagles had a perfectly designed opening play: a vertical route for Brown, wide open, ball dropped right into his hands. A touchdown was there for the taking. Instead, the ball hit the turf. If that was foreshadowing, the fourth quarter was the full-length feature.

With the game hanging in the balance, Brown had two more critical miscues. One came on a pass over the middle that Brown seemed to “for who, for what,”resulting in a deflection that turned into a Chargers interception. Then moments later came the real gut punch, a BEAUTIFUL deep ball from Hurts that would have sealed the game, hit Brown in stride…and fell incomplete. Not because of coverage was tremendous. Not because of placement. Because he dropped it.

Brown stood in front of reporters afterward and “owned it.” (Insert Sarcasm Font)

He acknowledged that he wanted those three plays back. (Ya think!!) What went unmentioned was the earlier sequence when he appeared to slow down on a block that might have sprung Saquon Barkley for a huge gain. Small detail, but notable given the circumstances this season.

Brown has been vocal in recent weeks about wanting the offense to tilt more in his direction and operate more aggressively. The opportunities have come—plenty of them. And Monday night, when the Eagles needed their No. 1 receiver to deliver, he simply didn’t. Instead, the team’s chances—much like those footballs—slipped right through his fingers.