Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley already has enough to worry about with the running gam struggling mightily, but now has to talk about the latest drama with star wide receiver A.J. Brown.
More headlines were created by Brown this week when he went on a Twitch stream and called the Eagles a “s-show” and told fantasy owners to drop him. This caused everyone within the organization, including head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts, to comment on the situation.
Well, it was time for Barkley to answer questions about Brown, and the running back wasn’t too concerned with it causing a “distraction” to the team.
“In reality, in our locker room, that has no factor at all. …It’s a lot of noise, in my opinion. We’re focused on Detroit. And we know we’re going to get the best from A.J. as a player and a leader.”
Saquon Barkley on the A.J. Brown discussion: “In reality, in our locker room, that has no factor at all. …It’s a lot of noise, in my opinion. We’re focused on Detroit. And we know we’re going to get the best from A.J. as a player and a leader.”
Last year, the Eagles were going through some drama with Brown, who was unhappy with his usage in the offense. Fans might remember that team ended up winning the Super Bowl, so it didn’t hurt them.
Admittedly, the media has not done a great job on their coverage of Brown. A prime example is The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who made multiple posts about Brown on a Saturday morning regarding his unhappiness and rumors of a potential trade. All the major sports networks have covered every cryptic tweet and every comment he has made.
This week, it has seemed like the majority of people are standing up for Brown and defending his comments. Let’s face it, most of what he has said about the offense is not wrong. They are statistically in the bottom 10 in every category and have failed to get the franchise’s greatest receiver the ball consistently.
The good part is the Eagles are not letting Brown’s comments become an issue for the team. Clearly, with a 7-2 record, they are rolling just fine and can handle any noise that comes their way.
One most welcome surprise for the Cincinnati Bengals in recent weeks has been the transformation of their running game. Unfortunately, the bye week, a second-time opponent in the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a key injury could derail all that prior momentum.
Not that the Steelers have a stupendous defense, but if Pittsburgh can score at will like many Bengals opponents have this season, ageless wonder Joe Flacco will be forced to air it out a lot and render Cincinnati’s offense one-dimensional.
To help Flacco avoid a quadragenarian shootout versus Aaron Rodgers, the Bengals need to play keep-away and lean on the run. Can they count on a rookie sixth-round pick to help the cause?
Former Texas Tech tailback Tahj Brooks slid all the way to the 193rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bengals happily scooped up the productive ball-carrier then, as a deep running back class was part of the reason for Brooks’ tumble down the board.
Any hopes Brooks had of substantial playing time early on were dashed when Cincinnati could run the ball whatsoever. Chase Brown was averaging around two yards per carry. Brooks has only managed six carries for 18 yards in his young career thus far.
But aging vet Samaje Perine and Brown suddenly became a phenomenal 1-2 punch of late. It’s a bummer that Perine will be out for Week 11 with an ankle injury, as the team confirmed on Friday.
Perine is a savvy back who still has more explosiveness than you’d think at 30 years old. The good news is, the Bengals’ disreputable offensive line has rallied from early adversity to pave lots of running lanes, which should open things up for Brown against Pittsburgh.
When the Steelers and Bengals met in Week 7, Brown had 108 yards on only 11 carries. The question is, does Brooks have the vision and conviction to hit the hole without hesitating, and produce like a solid RB2?
That much is unclear. What is clear is that Brooks should have the chance to prove himself. Maybe Zac Taylor won’t trust him with a lot of reps, but Brown’s health should take priority.
Plus, Brooks did have quite a run at the end of his college days, rushing for over 1500 yards in each of his last two seasons with 27 touchdowns on the ground in that span.
It’d just be nice to see a Cincinnati rookie do well. Watching Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter try to play NFL linebacker has been a disaster and a big reason why the defense is so bad. Maybe Brooks will provide hope that this latest underwhelming draft class can turn into something salvageable and respectable for the Duke Tobin-led scouting department.
I’ll play you out with some Brooks Texas Tech highlights rather than any more depressing Bengals personnel fodder.