And just like that, a meme was born.
The Eagles were up 19-10 over the Packers in the fourth quarter, and as the offense took their spot back on the bench, wide receiver A.J. Brown decided to take up some light reading. The WR casually pulled a book out from between himself and Jahan Dotson, opened it to about halfway, and began looking over the pages.
The moment was absolutely perfect.
AJ Brown is reading a book on the sideline?
FOX pic.twitter.com/jQGv8smD9N
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 13, 2025
For as much as Brown’s behavior on the sideline has been scrutinized over the years, pulling out a book to read was certainly a new one. It was quickly discovered that the WR was reading “Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life,” by Jim Murphy.
AJ Brown was reading the book Inner Excellence on the sideline pic.twitter.com/I8a30xg7OW
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) January 13, 2025
Maybe Brown, who is playing through a knee injury, needed a little extra internal strength to get through the final minutes of the Wild Card playoff game. Maybe he was just being funny with the Eagles up nine points late in the game. Either way, a new meme was born.
UPDATE: Brown talked about reading on the sideline after the game.
AJ Brown describing reading on the sideline, a book he brings to every single game… pic.twitter.com/LH2iIcW3L5
— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) January 13, 2025
UPDATE 2: Brown tweeted the following after the game.