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Can Sean McVay finally solve Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme when Rams play Eagles on Sunday night?
We’ve officially come full circle when it comes to Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and now Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Back in 2018, it was Fangio that drew up the game plan that Bill Belichick would use to beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. The entire NFL then used that game plan the following season in 2019 that forced McVay to rethink his entire coaching philosophy.
That game plan utilized a 6-1 front that took away the wide zone that McVay had been so successful with throughout his tenure. Using a quarters coverage behind it, it forced the Rams offense to suffocate. That was a defining moment for Sean McVay.
The Rams head coach would go on to do everything in his power to rebuild that defensive philosophy. He went so far as to hire Fangio’s right-hand man in Brandon Staley to implement that defensive scheme. McVay has also since gone away from the wide zone and introduced much more of a duo/gap-based running scheme.
It’s hard to believe, but this is the first time since that Sunday Night in Chicago that McVay and Fangio will be going head-to-head. McVay got over the Brian Flores hump earlier this season, beating the Minnesota Vikings. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to beat his other nemesis in Fangio.
The Eagles defense has been one of the best in the NFL this season. While they started slow, allowing big games to Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, this is a defense that has started to find its identity under Vic Fangio. Quinyon Mitchell is playing like one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL while Cooper DeJean has held his own in the slot. Zack Baun at linebacker has been a perfect fit in this defense.
Part of the Fangio defense is to make the offense feel like it’s being suffocated by a boa constrictor. The goal here is to force the quarterback and skill players to doubt everything down the field. This leaves an offense looking for explosive plays to get frustrated. Fangio wants an offense to feel stressed and lose patience. Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford have to be ok winning with a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ method of football. If they can be ok taking what’s available, the yards will be there and then they just have to finish drives.
This is the case for most games, but it will especially be the case on Sunday night. The Rams offensive line played better last week, not allowing the New England Patriots to sack Stafford. The Rams seemed to find an interior combination on the offensive line that works. However, this Eagles front will provide a different kind of test. The Eagles may not be getting a lot of production from...
