Eagles Vic Fangio Didn't Do His Defenders Any Favors On Falcons Final Drive

Philadelphia's defensive coordinator was aggressive all summer, but when it came time to find a way to get his defense to make a play, he sat back in soft coverage and didn't bring much pressure.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - Vic Fangio has been around too long, seen too much, to let what happened on the Atlanta Falcons final game-winning drive happen.

The Eagles experienced defensive coordinator rushed four and played soft coverage, allowing the Falcons to jet 70 yards without any timeouts in just 1:05 to snatch a 22-21 victory out of what looked like the jaws of a certain defeat.

The Eagles are struggling to get pressure, that can’t be denied.

Bryce Huff was supposed to be the heir to Haason Reddick on the edge, but he has just two pressures on 31 pass rushes for a win percentage of 6.7 percent.  As a team, they have one sack from the defensive line, and that came on Monday night from Milton Williams on third down to force a field goal.

On Atlanta’s final drive, there was no pressure, and Huff seemed to put some of that on Fangio.

“Up front, we should have had something to get to the QB knowing he was going to get it out quick,” he said. “That’s something we need to be prepared for. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and have these tools in our arsenal to combat these certain things in the right situations.”

Don’t be confused. Huff isn’t laying it all on Fangio. He readily admits he hasn’t done his part in getting to the quarterback.

“I’m not playing up to my standards,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m going to get in the film room and do everything I can to improve and put my product on the field.”

Sep 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff (0) and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (97) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Fangio has to do the same. Kirk Cousins was way too comfortable on that last drive.

The DC also has to understand that he has a rookie playing in just his second NFL game on the outside. Cousins was playing in his 152nd career game. So, some help up front, to get Cousins off his spot, to force an errant throw would have been welcomed.

The publisher of the SI’s Miami Dolphins site, Alain Poupart, pointed out that Fangio played the same no-pressure, soft-coverage tactic in a Week 14 Monday night loss to the Titans, allowing Tennessee to drive 64 yards on just 26 seconds to win the game, 28-27, on a TD in the final two minutes.

Poupart added that Fangio played it much different earlier in that season when, in Week 1 last year, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert got the ball back with a chance to win with 1:45 to play. Fangio sent blitzers on three plays that resulted in an intentional grounding penalty and two sacks, including the one that sealed the 36-34 Miami win.

Throughout Fangio’s first training camp, we saw an aggressive defensive coordinator, dialing up blitzes with frequency, disguising as best he could who was coming, and from where, while lining up players in different spots on his front.

In the final minute-plus on Monday, we saw none of that aggression, and that turned out to be a big problem.

Fangio will meet with reporters later this week and will exlain why he chose to play the final drive the way he did.

More NFL: Eagles Lacked Explosion Without A.J. Brown, May Be Without Him For A Few More Weeks