PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown had a novel idea to pass time on the bench during Philadelphia’s wild-card playoff game.
The Eagles wide receiver passed on the playbook and checked out an inspirational title — Brown casually ignored the action on the field and flipped through the pages of “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy.
Brown had time for some light reading with only one catch for 10 yards in a 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
The book is described on the cover as one that will “Train your mind for extraordinary performance and the best possible life.”
Brown said he often reads on the sideline but added: “Y’all caught me that time.”
Brown, who had 67 catches for 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns this season, described the lessons in the book as useful because football is “90% mental and 10% physical for me.”
“If I score a touchdown or drop a pass, it’s something how I refocus,” Brown said. “I always revert back to the beginning of the book. It states if you can just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, clear conscience, nothing matters negative or positive. You’re willing to take risks. It also says if you’re humble, you can’t be embarrassed.”
More Sports from NBC News
- Sixers abandon Center City arena plan, will stay in South Philly, officials say
- New England Patriots hire former player Mike Vrabel as head coach
- Houston Texans return blocked extra point for two points after miracle touchdown
- Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman makes history as coach in college football finals
Murphy’s bio on his website says he’s a former minor league outfielder and a mental skills coach to professional athletes. Murphy said he worked with another Eagles player who recommended the book to Brown.
Murphy told The Associated Press he was watching a replay of the Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame when his phone started blowing up with texts that his book made a cameo on an NFL playoff game.
“That’s pretty unique to read it during the game,” Murphy said by phone from Dallas. “I saw that he was reading it on the sidelines before. I saw a picture of it. I though, oh, that’s really cool, I never had an athlete in the game read it.”
“Inner Excellence” was the book of choice for Brown and maybe the rest of the Eagles.
A better story for the Birds on Sunday: Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses securing another home playoff game in a season they hope comes with a happy ending — a Super Bowl win.
“I’m just going to stay free, play free,” Brown said.
Brown later shared a photo of the book on social media with several passages highlighted in yellow.
“I’ve never seen him read. I’ve seen the book in his hands,” Hurts said. “Everybody has a different thing and finds their flow in different ways. That’s how we choose to do it.”
The next chapter? The NFC East champion Eagles host a divisional round game next Sunday at the Linc against the winner of the game Monday night between Minnesota and the Los Angeles Rams.
