Los Angeles Rams v Philadelphia Eagles
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PHILADELPHIA -- There was a point this season where it was fair to wonder if A.J. Brown was actually on the Philadelphia Eagles. Brown was in the boxscore, but the three-time All-Pro wide receiver was a minimalist on the stat sheet. 

Brown had 35 receiving yards through two games. He had the same amount through 10 quarters of football this season. Remember this is A.J. Brown, a top five wide receiver in football. 

The Eagles were forced to change their offensive philosophy. They were down 19 points early in the second half, and running the football wasn't getting them back in the game. 

They had to pass the ball. There was no choice. 

"We're just trying to figure something out," Brown said. "The plan was to get the offense going. Not me personally. It just kind of happened that way."

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All it took was a simple pass to Brown, a minuscule 8-yard completion that got the star Eagles wide receiver -- and the booing crowd at Lincoln Financial Field -- going. 

The Eagles were down 26-7 early in the quarter. They needed something -- anything -- to get going. There was Brown to ignite the fire, getting fired up over the fans shouting "A.O" after his first catch. For those unaware, "A.O." is Brown's nickname -- meaning "Always Open." Brown has a an "Open" sign at his locker and a mat that says "Open" in front of it

"I heard the 'A.O.' and I'm like, 'Yeah, that was a great idea by me,'" Brown said. "It fired me up. They weren't in sync, but it was cool."

Brown's plea for Eagles to open up the offense

The Eagles pass offense rolls through Brown, even if the star wideout was essentially nonexistent through the first two-and-a-half games of the season. Brown didn't get a target until late in the fourth quarter of the season opener and had just 27 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. 

Through a half of football against the Rams, Brown had just one target. The Eagles had -1 passing yards, unfathomable for an offense with Jalen Hurts at quarterback, Brown and DeVonta Smith at wide receiver, and Dallas Goedert at tight end. 

"We got so many good players on this team. And at times, you can feel like we're being conservative," Brown said. "And I don't think it should be like that. It should be, let your killers do their thing. Play fast and play aggressive."

The Eagles didn't have a choice when they were down 26-7 in the third quarter. They had to throw the ball to get back in the game. Brown saw nine targets at that point, catching six passes for 106 yards -- including a 9-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that cut the Eagles' lead to 26-21. 

All of a sudden the Eagles passing game opened up. Goedert had a 33-yard touchdown catch to open the scoring, followed by Brown's touchdown, capped off with DeVonta Smith's 4-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal with 1:48 to give the Eagles the lead for good. 

Jalen Hurts went 17 of 24 for 209 yards and three touchdowns in the second half. Hurts went 12 of 16 throwing to Brown and Smith in the second half, having a 145.1 passer rating when going to Brown and a 132.4 passer rating when targeting Smith. 

Clearly, the Eagles offense moved when they threw the ball. They scored three touchdowns on four possessions after going down 26-9. 

Throwing the ball works. Brown would prefer to see more of that going forward. 

"I'm not saying that we haven't been (aggressive)," Brown said. "But me personally, that's what I would like. Obviously, we're going to run the ball ... and pass off the run. We have a lot of good players. We should just let them go. It should be like that."

Will the Eagles listen? 

Hard to argue with the Eagles' definition of success, and why they are conservative with the football. The Eagles pride on allowing other teams to beat themselves, as evidenced by the 39 takeaways to 9 giveaways over their last 20 games -- a stretch in which Philadelphia is 19-1. 

Philadelphia has also protected Hurts from himself, as the Eagles quarterback has 43 total touchdowns to 5 giveaways in his last 17 games. The Eagles are 17-0 in the last 17 games Hurts has started and finished.

Winning is the most paramount aspect for the Eagles, no matter how they get the victory. If it's not aesthetically pleasing, so be it. 

This is why Brown's plea to open up the offense is under debate. How does a team just go away from a formula that has tremendous results? 

"Of course, every receiver wants to get the football," said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. "It's just a great example of everybody wanting immediate results and we want immediate results, but there's a process to it. We don't have to live to what anybody else thinks except for what our standard is."

Sirianni essentially avoided answering the question, or did he answer it the best way he knows how? Hard to argue with a formula that has produced wins at a 95% clip since the bye week last year. That's when the Eagles took the reins off Hurts and banked on the run game and offensive line to lead the offense.

"I've seen a lot of guys go a different way in that and he handled every one of them that I saw with just so much grace, with so much maturity," an emotional Sirianni said. "I know someone's going to say, 'Well, did he?' Yeah, he did. He said the right thing. I know he wants the football, but he said the right things the entire week and that's big for a team.

"I'm just really proud of how he's handled a slow start as far as stat-wise, but he's doing the right things without it in his hands to help us find ways to win football games, and today we needed it with the ball in his hands."

The passing game is called upon when needed. All Brown is asking for is to have that more consistently. 

"It's out there now," Brown said with a laugh. "We got a lot of good players. We believe that we can do some special things. Obviously, it's about being on the same page...Let us go hoop, and let us have fun."