That sigh of relief you might have heard or sensed Monday night belonged to the fantasy football owners of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. After a feeble four-catch, 29-yard, 6.9-point outing in Week 2, Brown returned to a place of prominence in his team’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by making nine catches for 131 yards and registering 22.1 points.

Shoot, Brown probably let out the biggest sigh of all.

A week earlier, he felt like the forgotten man during that quiet game against the Minnesota Vikings. In that outing, he recorded just one second-half reception and fumed on the sideline in the fourth quarter during a heated conversation with quarterback Jalen Hurts until Eagles coach Nick Sirianni managed to settle him down.

Hurts understood Brown’s frustrations.

“Everybody wants to contribute,” the quarterback said later.

But Hurts also understood the flow of the game at times dictates to whom and where the ball goes, and that said flow doesn’t reflect a player’s level of importance to his team.

Sirianni and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson echoed those sentiments in the days after that game, which the Eagles won, by the way. And sure enough, this week Brown found himself in a drastically different position. Targeted on the second and third plays of the game, and frequently thereafter (14 times in all), he recorded his first 100-yard game of the season and his sixth since Philadelphia acquired him from the Tennessee Titans in April 2022.

In his game planning, Johnson made an effort to get his 6-foot-1, 226-pound weapon involved early. (The second play was designed for Brown.) And the game flow also developed in Brown’s favor. The third play wasn’t originally designed for him, but the Buccaneers’ coverage dictated that the Eagles check into option routes. Brown and fellow wideout DeVonta Smith quickly conferred at the line. Brown went inside, Smith went outside and Hurts connected with Brown, who got free.

By night’s end, Brown possessed a far better state of mind than the week before. He also had gained an improved perspective of how the Eagles’ offense will operate this season now that they — as NFC champs and Super Bowl runners-up — can no longer sneak up on opponents as they did last season. The Eagles (3-0) next host the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Read more here.