FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – A.J. Brown didn’t even have to break stride on his crossing route when Drake Maye’s pass hit him in the hands. There was room to run in front of him, and Brown took off down the sideline.

At any New England Patriots practice, it would’ve been a fun moment, the kind that gets the fans on their feet. But on this day, everything Brown did carried a little extra weight.

So it mattered a little more that the Patriots’ passing offense carved up the Vic Fangio-led Philadelphia Eagles secondary. It mattered that, today at least, Brown perfectly fit the role the Pats hope he will.

This was the franchise’s vision all along. This was the reason the Patriots were the only team willing to send a first-round pick to the Eagles for Brown. The hope was that he’d help take a really good offense to the next level. And if Wednesday’s joint practice outside Gillette Stadium was any indication, everything is right on schedule.

“He’s making my job a lot easier,” Brown said of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. “He’s creating matchups for me, moving me around.”

A year ago, frustrations with Philadelphia’s offense prompted the trade to New England. But for the Patriots, the move came with plenty of risk. A first-round pick is a steep price for a receiver who will turn 30 next summer and is coming off a down season (78 receptions for 1,003 yards, the second-lowest total of his career).

The hope was that he’d be a true No. 1 option for Maye. That when Maye was in a pinch, he could turn to Brown.

That happened on Wednesday. At one point, the Eagles flew through the New England O-line with a blitz, and Maye had next to no time. He threw off his back foot in Brown’s direction, and the receiver came down with the ball.

But for the most part, things were in rhythm for the Pats’ starting offense, which diced an Eagles secondary that had a rough day.

There are still plenty of questions about the New England offense, and Wednesday’s practice was not perfect. There were some issues in pass protection and blitz pickups, and it’s difficult to know when a play would’ve resulted in a sack in practices like these when tackling the quarterback isn’t allowed. And the running game didn’t appear to have a ton of room in which to operate, though, again, it’s tough to evaluate when running backs aren’t tackled.

Still, there have been enough rough moments to be concerned about the run game.

While the addition of Brown drew the biggest headlines this spring, the Patriots’ big offseason goal was to improve the running game. They feel like they’re going to face more two-high safety looks, and they need to be able to take better advantage of that on the ground.

On a day like Wednesday when the passing offense looks like it could be the best in the NFL, could the run be the only thing to slow this offense?

“It’s probably hard to tell,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think it could always be better. But it’s not live, so you don’t know if guys break tackles and receivers are trying to come get safeties that are 3 yards from the line of scrimmage. … I think that there’s a fine line there in trying to figure out what the run game looks like and what it will look like, and there’s been some good runs. There’s been some times where it’s been one guy, but still not a very good play.”

So while the run game remains the concern on offense, the passing game has looked good enough in these August practices to overcome any early hiccups there.

Brown burnt his former team with relative ease. Romeo Doubs made an incredible catch over a defender in the end zone. And Maye spread the ball around, showing off his accuracy with passes over the middle of the field.

“He’s very special, and he makes my job a lot easier, and just learning how he sees the game, and just getting on the same page,” Brown said of Maye. “ … He has a lot of arm talent. He can place the ball anywhere.”

Wednesday was also a reminder of how far the Patriots have come in a couple of years. In August of 2024, the Eagles came to these same practice fields and dominated the Patriots in embarrassing fashion, a precursor of the 4-13 season that followed for New England.

A couple of years later, the Patriots are Super Bowl contenders. And if the passing attack keeps playing the way it did on Wednesday, the Pats again could be busy in February.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – A.J. Brown didn’t even have to break stride on his crossing route when Drake Maye’s pass hit him in the hands. There was room to run in front of him, and Brown took off down the sideline.

At any New England Patriots practice, it would’ve been a fun moment, the kind that gets the fans on their feet. But on this day, everything Brown did carried a little extra weight.

So it mattered a little more that the Patriots’ passing offense carved up the Vic Fangio-led Philadelphia Eagles secondary. It mattered that, today at least, Brown perfectly fit the role the Pats hope he will.

This was the franchise’s vision all along. This was the reason the Patriots were the only team willing to send a first-round pick to the Eagles for Brown. The hope was that he’d help take a really good offense to the next level. And if Wednesday’s joint practice outside Gillette Stadium was any indication, everything is right on schedule.

“He’s making my job a lot easier,” Brown said of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. “He’s creating matchups for me, moving me around.”

A year ago, frustrations with Philadelphia’s offense prompted the trade to New England. But for the Patriots, the move came with plenty of risk. A first-round pick is a steep price for a receiver who will turn 30 next summer and is coming off a down season (78 receptions for 1,003 yards, the second-lowest total of his career).

The hope was that he’d be a true No. 1 option for Maye. That when Maye was in a pinch, he could turn to Brown.

That happened on Wednesday. At one point, the Eagles flew through the New England O-line with a blitz, and Maye had next to no time. He threw off his back foot in Brown’s direction, and the receiver came down with the ball.

But for the most part, things were in rhythm for the Pats’ starting offense, which diced an Eagles secondary that had a rough day.

There are still plenty of questions about the New England offense, and Wednesday’s practice was not perfect. There were some issues in pass protection and blitz pickups, and it’s difficult to know when a play would’ve resulted in a sack in practices like these when tackling the quarterback isn’t allowed. And the running game didn’t appear to have a ton of room in which to operate, though, again, it’s tough to evaluate when running backs aren’t tackled.

Still, there have been enough rough moments to be concerned about the run game.

While the addition of Brown drew the biggest headlines this spring, the Patriots’ big offseason goal was to improve the running game. They feel like they’re going to face more two-high safety looks, and they need to be able to take better advantage of that on the ground.

On a day like Wednesday when the passing offense looks like it could be the best in the NFL, could the run be the only thing to slow this offense?

“It’s probably hard to tell,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think it could always be better. But it’s not live, so you don’t know if guys break tackles and receivers are trying to come get safeties that are 3 yards from the line of scrimmage. … I think that there’s a fine line there in trying to figure out what the run game looks like and what it will look like, and there’s been some good runs. There’s been some times where it’s been one guy, but still not a very good play.”

So while the run game remains the concern on offense, the passing game has looked good enough in these August practices to overcome any early hiccups there.

Brown burnt his former team with relative ease. Romeo Doubs made an incredible catch over a defender in the end zone. And Maye spread the ball around, showing off his accuracy with passes over the middle of the field.

“He’s very special, and he makes my job a lot easier, and just learning how he sees the game, and just getting on the same page,” Brown said of Maye. “ … He has a lot of arm talent. He can place the ball anywhere.”

Wednesday was also a reminder of how far the Patriots have come in a couple of years. In August of 2024, the Eagles came to these same practice fields and dominated the Patriots in embarrassing fashion, a precursor of the 4-13 season that followed for New England.

A couple of years later, the Patriots are Super Bowl contenders. And if the passing attack keeps playing the way it did on Wednesday, the Pats again could be busy in February.

The Kansas City Royals take a three-game win streak into a home matchup versus the Athletics at 7:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Seth Lugo (5-7, 4.59 ERA) gets the start for the Royals, who are 53-74 this season and fifth in the AL Central. Gage Jump (5-7, 4.50 ERA) is starting for the Athletics, who are 49-77 and fifth in the AL West.

How to watch Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals

Athletics vs. Royals odds

• Favorite Moneyline: Royals -167
• Underdog Moneyline: Athletics +140
• Total: 8.5
• Total Over Odds: -120
• Total Under Odds: +100

Injury reports

Royals

Tony Gonsolin: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Beck Way: 15 Day IL (Back), Jonathan India: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Cole Ragans: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Luinder Avila: 60 Day IL (Forearm), Alec Marsh: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Carlos Estévez: 60 Day IL (Foot), Nick Mears: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Stephen Kolek: 60 Day IL (Flexor), Connor Seabold: 60 Day IL (Lat), James McArthur: 60 Day IL (Elbow)

Athletics

Nick Kurtz: 10 Day IL (Thumb), Shea Langeliers: 10 Day IL (Knee), Josh Kuroda-Grauer: 10 Day IL (Testicle), Tyler Soderstrom: 10 Day IL (Hip), José Suarez: 15 Day IL (Hip), Jeffrey Springs: 15 Day IL (Hip), Justin Sterner: 60 Day IL (Knee), Denzel Clarke: 60 Day IL (Foot), Brooks Kriske: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Mark Leiter Jr.: 60 Day IL (Hip), Brent Rooker: 60 Day IL (Knee), Luis Severino: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Gunnar Hoglund: 60 Day IL (Knee), Jacob Wilson: day-to-day (Undisclosed)

Stats to know

• Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. is slashing .287/.361/.460 this season with 15 home runs, 47 RBIs and an OPS of .821. He has a 17.6% strikeout rate and a 10.3% walk rate in 476 plate appearances, and he has scored 67 total runs. Witt has recorded 33 steals on 39 attempts.
• In 459 plate appearances, Jac Caglianone has hit 22 long balls, tallied 60 RBIs and scored 58 runs. He is batting .278/.329/.494 and has posted a 25.7% strikeout rate and a 6.3% walk rate. Caglianone has recorded six steals on eight attempts.
• Jeff McNeil has hit six home runs this season. He has also tallied 41 RBIs and has scored 34 runs. In 379 plate appearances, he has recorded a .262 BA, .316 OBP and .358 SLG with a 6.6% walk rate and an 11.6% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording six steals on eight attempts.
• In 337 plate appearances, Jacob Wilson has hit seven long balls, tallied 37 RBIs and scored 37 runs. He is batting .266/.298/.388 and has posted an 11.6% strikeout rate and a 3.6% walk rate.

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