Inside the Eagles' Plan For Jayden Daniels

The Eagles had to take something away from dynamic rookie QB Jayden Daniels.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles’ safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson gave a quick summation of the game plan well-regarded defensive coordinator Vic Fangio unveiled against dynamic rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels on Thursday night.

“Just respect the quarterback, respect his game, and make him play quarterback,” Gardner-Johnson said moments after the 24-16 Eagles win that gave 8-2 Philadelphia some breathing room over the Washington Commanders (7-4) in the NFC East race. “Understand that when he comes after you he becomes very dangerous and tonight we did a great job of making him play quarterback.

“Not taking anything from him but in this type of game we had to limit something.”

The result may have been Daniels' worst game as a professional throwing the football with an inability to even look outside the numbers at times thanks to a consistent, disciplined pass rush and sticky coverage in the most zone-heavy game plan Fangio has used this season.

According to the charting of @TheHonestNFL, a former Eagles’ employee under a different coaching staff who is well-versed in Fangio’s methods the Eagles used  “No true Man coverages used until the 7th drive, which also means they were basically presenting zone every single snap until they took the lead.”

Interesting things one can take away from the charting:

— No true Man coverages used until the 7th drive, which also means they were basically presenting zone every single snap until they took the lead.
— This was the most snaps of Quads (including Trix) I’ve seen Fangio use… pic.twitter.com/1oF8RRNfuU

— Honest NFL (@TheHonestNFL) November 16, 2024

Fangio was more concerned with Daniels’ ability to beat the Eagles with his legs than his processing skills and went “a lot of Cover 9, 3 Buzz, and Fire Zones so he could play 8-man spacing to combat the run game.”

The result was another dominant defensive performance for the young Philadelphia defense which held an opponent under 300 total yards (264) for a sixth consecutive game. 

Daniels finished 22 of 32 for 191 yards, with most of that coming with passes to Austin Ekeler in the flat or underneath. The rookie star was just 4 of 10 targeting receivers for a dismal 28 yards.  

Daniels’ 63.9 Pro Football Focus grade was his worst of the season since a poor debut against Tampa Bay on Kickoff Weekend. 

The debate of the Eagles' bets offseason pickup usually boils down to Saquon Barkley vs. Zack Baun. It may be time to extend that conversation to the coaching staff because Fangio's much-hyped game-day feel has exceeded his reputation.

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