PHILADELPHIA — As the Philadelphia Eagles mounted a two-possession lead halfway through the fourth quarter, A.J. Brown took his seat on the sideline bench and reached to his right.
Grabbing his well-worn copy of “Inner Excellence,” Brown thumbed to a bright yellow-highlighted, blue-underlined page of the mental skills book.
He began to read.
Yes: The Eagles’ star receiver read from a printed book in the middle of a 2025 NFL playoff game.
“In the pursuit of extraordinary performance, it’s easy to succumb to anxiety and pressure, because so much is out of your control,” Brown read on page 2 of the mindset book by Jim Murphy. “When you learn to live a life that is fully engaged, however, then you can perform your best and love the challenge.”
Brown considered what was out of his control: his knee injury, his quarterback’s three-week hiatus in concussion protocol, the limited targets he’d received Sunday afternoon.
Then he considered the challenges he could embrace anyway: blocking to spring teammates as he did on tight end Dallas Goedert’s stiff-arm-happy touchdown, running routes that demanded attention from the Green Bay Packers even when he wasn’t targeted, emotionally galvanizing teammates in a 22-10 wild-card win.
To Brown, all of this came back to inner excellence.
“It gives me a sense of peace,” Brown explained his unusual reading choice later from his locker. “To me, this game is mental. I believe I can do anything and everything — but I’ve got to make sure my mental is good.
“My teammates call it the recipe.”
On Sunday night in Philadelphia, the text of Murphy’s “Inner Excellence” was the recipe for Brown’s level-headed perspective to a game that unfolded without his usual production. The backstory behind how he found and embraced it speaks to the recipe that has buoyed the Eagles to a home divisional game against the winner of Monday night’s Minnesota Vikings-Los Angeles Rams contest.
Because Brown didn’t stumble upon this book on his own and he didn’t receive the recommendation from a fellow receiver or even quarterback. Like on Sunday against the Packers, credit the Eagles’ defense with rising to the occasion.
Eagles DT recommended book to Brown, who embraced it
On the flight home from the Sept. 22 Eagles-New Orleans Saints game, Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo opened a book he’d been meaning to read for some time.
A University of Texas-based chaplain and personal coach, D.J. Giaritelli, had recommended it before the Eagles selected the Longhorn in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft. But after that Week 3 game in New Orleans, Ojomo actually began reading it and was surprised at how much it reminded him of a recent interview clip he’d seen of Brown. The second-year defensive tackle and sixth-year receiver weren’t by any means close then; but Ojomo approached Brown anyway as they landed in Philadelphia and boarded the team bus.
“Honestly, felt it on my heart — I just felt convicted to recommend it to him,” Ojomo told Yahoo Sports by phone Sunday night. “It allows me to not be so much outcome-based and almost to live a truer life with joy. In essence, we become so obsessed with some of the things we can’t control rather than controlling the things we can and I believe that we miss life.”
Brown followed up shortly after to confirm the book’s title. Soon, he was not only reading it — count it toward his two-books-a-month goal — but also highlighting, underlining and writing his own bullet points in the front inside cover. He began bringing it to games and stashing it near the sideline, locking in on key passages between each drive regardless of the outcome.
Score a touchdown or go for 100 yards, as Brown did seven and five times respectively this season? Murphy’s passages remind Brown that those “best moments always come from a clear mind and unburdened heart.” Drop a pass, or run a wide-open route only to not be targeted? Murphy’s words caution Brown against judgmental thoughts or “beliefs that limit us.”
Against the Packers, that mindset did not elevate Brown to a gaudy box score nor did it help snap the 26-minute, 40-second completion drought that quarterback Jalen Hurts muddied through in the middle of the game.
In a weirdly streaky game, Hurts completed each of his six first passes and then missed seven straight before the Eagles settled back down. Philadelphia completed just 2 of 11 (18.2%) third downs as Hurts passed for just 131 yards on 21 attempts.
An Eagles win didn’t require more on a stellar day from coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense. Not only did backup linebackers Oren Burks and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. force and recover a fumble on the opening kickoff, but also three different defenders intercepted Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
Enjoying an astounding 6.75 seconds of protection after the snap, per Next Gen Stats, Hurts found receiver Jahan Dotson for the game’s first touchdown to capitalize on the kickoff turnover. The Packers wouldn’t reach the end zone until the fourth quarter, and even then it was too little too late.
The Eagles weren’t celebrating their offensive execution even as Hurts downplayed the impact his concussion protocol limitations had on his performance. Philadelphia viewed its offense, and especially its passing game, as a clear area to elevate for next week — while also recognizing that the ball security they practiced secured a plus-four turnover advantage that even Packers head coach Matt LaFleur acknowledged has historically spelled an Eagles win.
“Do we want plays back that happened today? Yeah,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “We made errors as coaches, and we made errors as players. And we’re going to go back and get those fixed.”
Brown at his best could lift Eagles to excellence next game
Hurts attributed the midgame completion desert to execution and rhythm. He praised the defense’s swipes while taking accountability for not scoring even more points off turnovers.
“We have to find our rhythm earlier in the game,” Hurts said. “Ultimately, you just want to impose your will and your style of play. I think we know we’re capable of doing a number of different things, but we just have to find our rhythm and go out there and ultimately execute.”
The Packers loaded up at linebacker and trended toward base personnel, Hurts said. He expects more teams to lean into stopping the run after the Eagles powered Saquon Barkley to 119 yards on 25 carries in the wild-card matchup, the quarterback wondering how much of the passing game he could unlock if that run-focused defensive trend repeats.
An Eagles defense that led the league in yards allowed and ranked second in points allowed through the season seems comfortably on track for the Vikings or Rams who will await next.
So Philadelphia’s ability to advance past the divisional round more likely will hinge on its offensive execution. Minnesota, especially, could threaten Barkley after fronting the second-toughest rushing defense during the regular season. Brown’s history suggests he’s capable of rising to the occasion against either opponent.
When Philadelphia leaned heavily into the run against the Carolina Panthers last month, Hurts passing for just 108 yards, Brown publicly challenged his teammates and himself to improve the passing game.
The Eagles returned the next week to lay 290 passing yards on a strong Pittsburgh Steelers team, Hurts and Brown alone connecting for eight catches, 110 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. After that win, Hurts trumpeted the need to “water” the grass of the passing game after a stretch of nourishing the run game.
“We want to continue to be well-rounded,” he said, “and water all areas.”
Pair that production resilience with Brown’s less-controversial response to Sunday’s passing game dip, and the Eagles have reason for confidence. They’re less concerned with how they win and more concerned that they win, multiple players said.
Sunday, they were relieved to avoid the wild-card exit they suffered last year in Tampa Bay, and they were eager to ride whichever recipe will deliver another victory next week.
For Brown, expect that recipe to again feature his torn-cover copy of “Inner Excellence” as teammates celebrate what works for him and what works for each of them.
They don’t think twice about it, several said after the game.
“That’s A.J. Brown — he can do whatever the hell he wants,” left tackle Jordan Mailata told Yahoo Sports. “None of us see it as a slight to his work ethic or disrespect to the game. That’s just how his mind works getting into the zone [and] he’s so disciplined in his plan, there’s a method to the madness.
“Whatever works for him — for us, it’s like, ‘That’s A.J.’
“Shoot, I might pull out some Dr. Seuss next game. ‘Green Eggs and Ham’?”
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