A.J. Brown's road from Super Bowl loss to a record season

PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles receiver A.J. Brown has a running bit with his trainer, Joey Guarascio, where he'll show up at Guarascio's facility in Boca Raton, Florida, unannounced. Guarascio's phone rings and Brown will be on the other end, announcing he's at the door.

In early March, Brown flew down to begin his offseason training.

The greeting was the same, but the vibes were different. The wounds from the Eagles' 38-35 loss in Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs were fresh. Brown was distraught in the aftermath of that game -- he declined to address the media that night, and the pain in his voice, which barely rose above a whisper, was evident when he spoke at his locker back in Philly a couple days later. Little time had passed before the demands of the next season came calling.

"You can tell that it stung, because he really didn't want to talk about it," said Guarascio, the head strength and conditioning coach at Florida Atlantic University who served in the same role at Ole Miss when Brown played there. "I picked the hint up like, OK, it's still a sore subject. And I know that in his mind, he wanted to be MVP, he wanted the fairytale ending to it. I know that was one of his main drivers this whole offseason, to prove to everyone that he can be the best receiver in the NFL."

Heading into Monday night's Super Bowl rematch against the Chiefs (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC), Brown's mission is on track. He ranks second in receiving yards (1,005) behind only Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins (1,076) and is coming off a historic stretch in which he became the first player in NFL history to post 125-plus receiving yards in six consecutive games, eclipsing a mark previously held by first-ballot Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson.

The quickest Eagle to reach 1,000 receiving yards, Brown has thrust himself into the Offensive Player of the Year conversation along with his close friend and quarterback, Jalen Hurts, helping the Eagles to an 8-1 start.

A.J. BROWN'S FIRST 9 GAMES
Total yards 1,005
Yards per catch 15.0
Receiving TDs 6
Projected total yards 1,898
Projected TDs 11

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