Minnesota Vikings must contend with Philadelphia Eagles trio of ‘Batman’ receivers in Monday night game

PHILADEPLHIA — Jalen Hurts has a trio of winged receivers — bats, of sorts, as much as they are Philadelphia Eagles — ready to Sock! Pow! Bam! their way into the end zone against the Minnesota Vikings.

Who are those masked men?

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay sees a twist on the popular Spider-Man pointing meme, only with three receivers who each can stake a claim as the team’s “Batman.”

A.J. Brown’s tinted visor may hide his eyes, but his numbers popped in a Week 1 win against the Detroit Lions with 10 receptions for 155 yards, tying his career high. Devonta Smith set a team rookie record with 916 receiving yards last year. And Quez Watkins had a 91-yard catch last season.

“I know you all see him with the dark visor, he just looks like a swole Batman,” Slay said of Brown. “You all can’t tell me he doesn’t look like a swole Batman. DeVonta is a skinny Batman. Quez is a fast Batman. We’ve got three Batmans on the team, one swole, one skinny, one fast.”

But there’s only one ball. So which receiver is Robin?

“No Robins. We’ve got no sidekicks,” Slay said. “We’ve got nothing but Batmans. Those boys fly. Let it fly.”

The Eagles might have a little fun planned on a dark night (under the lights, at least) Monday in Philadelphia.

“We’re going to bring us a cape or something whenever we score a touchdown,” Brown said. “We’re going to try and have fun with it, that’s all.”

Brown was an instant hit in his first game with the Eagles, immediately looking worth the four-year contract he signed after they acquired him from the Tennessee Titans in a draft-day trade. His 155 yards were the most by an Eagle since Alshon Jeffery had eight catches for 160 yards in December 2018 in a road game against the Los Angeles Rams. Brown’s total also was the highest by a receiver in his Eagles debut.

Philly was buzzing over Brown. He just wasn’t listening.

Brown insisted he wasn’t scrolling Twitter or reading the 650-plus comments on last week’s Instagram post. In an age when some celebrities denounce social media, Brown said he couldn’t bring himself to read his reviews because they were too positive.

“I don’t believe my own hype,” he said. “I’ve got to come in and work each and every day. It definitely can get into your head. Everybody wants to hear good things about them. I just try and focus on me. I feed myself whatever thoughts I need to feed myself for a game or for practice. I get myself prepared. I don’t want it to come from an outsider.”

Brown is part of a Monday night matchup that features two of the top receivers in the league.

The Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, famously passed over by the Eagles in the 2020 draft, dominated the Green Bay Packers last week with 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns last week in an opening 23-7 victory.

“I’ve always tried to go where my reads take me, and I think it’s more of the coach’s credit if the ball is going to Justin and able to keep going to him,” Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “But the minute he’s covered, I’m going elsewhere. I’m not going to try to force the ball to him, but certainly if he’s open, we’re going to try to get him the football.”

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has watched Jefferson since the receiver put in a standout performance for LSU in the national championship game to cap the 2019 season.

“I’ve always admired his game and respected his game. He poses a lot of problems,” Sirianni said. “He’s a great football player and we have some great football players too. Yeah, he’s got great game.”