AJ Brown Explains Sideline Outburst Towards Jalen Hurts, Leaving Locker Room Early After Eagles Win Over Vikings

The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football last week. The Eagles took a 20-point lead in third quarter and appeared in complete control. However, wide receiver AJ Brown went off on quarterback Jalen Hurts on the sideline despite the lead.

Philadelphia seized control after taking a 27-7 lead in the third quarter. The Vikings cut the lead to 27-13 but the Eagles had a chance to put the game away just after the start of the fourth quarter. With the ball in Vikings territory, teams switched sides after the end of the third.

During the break between periods, cameras caught a heated exchange between Brown and Hurts. Coaches stepped in to break up the discussion.

DeVonta Smith and D'Andre Smith were destroying the Vikings defense. Perhaps Minnesota decided to focus on stopping Brown.

Because of that, Brown didn't have much impact on the game. He did not appreciate that, despite the team leading big for most of the third quarter.

OutKick's Alejandro Avila covered the discussion following the team's victory. In addition to the sideline blowup, Brown left the Eagles locker room before media entered so that he did not have to speak with reporters.

Philadelphia Eagles WR AJ Brown Explains Sideline Outburst Towards QB Jalen Hurts

On Thursday, Brown addressed his behavior. Admittedly, his sideline outburst looked bad from the outside. Yelling at his team's quarterback for not getting the ball enough during a game the team was winning is not exactly a great look.

Leaving the locker room so as not to have to address said outburst isn't a great look, either. But his explanation on Thursday was probably the best he could do given the circumstances he created.

"The little sideline discussion, I want you all to know that's what it was -- it was a discussion," Brown said, according to ESPN. "This is a game that we both love, and I want everybody to understand that sometimes emotions run high. That doesn't mean it's the end of the world. That doesn't mean I'm beefing with Jalen.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown celebrate after the team's NFC Championship win over the San Fransisco 49ers. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"I know everybody took that out of context, but it's not a big deal, me and him are still on the same page, we're still growing, we're still trying to become great and get wins most importantly," he continued.

"The reason I left after the game is because my emotion was high, so I had to remove myself. Because I know wants a story and you all are doing your job ... but I just had to clear my mind before ," he said.

AJ Brown said the right things on Thursday

Quite honestly, this is the right way to play this for Brown. Although, talking about how badly he wants to win is strange given that the team was winning at the time. Still, Brown is a competitor and he wants to win and contribute to those wins. Not the worst trait for a star wide receiver.

His explanation for leaving is perfect, though. I can only speak for myself, but there are times I wish I had chosen to remove myself from a situation to clear my head rather than say something during a time of high emotions.

Again, I am speaking for myself, but I have a feeling that if you're reading this you know that feeling, too.

Good for Brown recognizing the situation, removing himself from it during an emotional period and then returning to address after all of that had settled down.

To recap: blowing up on the sideline while winning a game on national TV is bad.

Owning up to that after the fact and doing so after having time to clear the head is good. Especially for a guy who is still just 26 years old.

Look for a big game out of AJ Brown when the Eagles travel to Tampa Bay for Monday Night Football.