Eagles DC Vic Fangio finally reveals what went wrong in Week 2
When Saquon Barkley dropped what looked like a can't-miss first down on third-and-three with a little under two minutes left to play in the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons , it placed the ball firmly in Vic Fangio 's court to secure the W in the home opener.
*Spoiler alert* it did not go very well.
Taking the field down six with 1:39 left to play, Kirk Cousins picked up 11 yards on his first pass, 26 on his second, and five more on the third, with his fourth complete pass going to Drake London for the game-tying touchdown. He cut up Fangio's defense effortlessly, picking apart zone looks without so much as a blitzer rushing his internal clock, and in the end, the Eagles had no one to blame for the loss but themselves, as Fangio's conservative call directly led to the score.
What gives? Why didn't Fangio attack Cousins when he clearly wasn't at 100 percent health? Well, in his Friday media availability, he laid it out, noting that he really didn't have time to do much of anything, as the Falcons' strategy went from two-minute drill to the redzone in just a handful of plays.
"You know, it started off as what you think of as a two-minute drive, but within two plays, it really wasn't two-minute anymore," Fangio told reporters. "We gave up the big one on the sideline there on the second play, and after that, it became 'They are in the red zone,' and they got their time and their set of downs to do it. Again, we just need to coach it better, starting with me, to get them to do it better."
Would the Eagles have made it a game if they didn't give up a few big gains to the Falcons like Quinyon Mitchell's misread against Darnell Mooney? Maybe so, but what the Eagles really need to do is figure things out moving forward, as they really can't afford another total defensive breakdown in a close contest.
Vic Fangio doesn't blame the Eagles' inexperience for Week 2 issues
While one could write a small book about the issues with the Eagles' defense through the first two weeks of the season, as they've been unable to generate much of a pass rush, have struggled against both the run and the pass, and have routinely seen players either out of position or forced into an unadventurous position, one factor of Philadelphia's struggles Fangio won't blame is the team's inexperience, as he doesn't feel it's so cut and dry.
"Yeah, I don't think it's as cut and dry as that. You can be young and still play well, mentally and physically. There's been a lot of guys that do that," Fangio told reporters.
"Are we still in the process of learning how to do everything? Probably. Doing it at a high level of proficiency, especially when the game is on the line. But yeah, I mean, maybe."
Do Eagles players routinely find themselves out of position? Yes, Mitchell bit on the underneath route on the Falcons' final drive of Week 2, and that play effectively cut the field in half and Darius Slay was out of position when Drake London caught the game-winning touchdown. Still, to say those mistakes are more based on schematic inexperience than mental fortitude really is dumbing down a very complex issue, which is why Fangio is evaluating the tape more broadly.
