5 Rams keys to victory: Can Sean McVay get his vengeance on Vic Fangio?

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.

1. Be Patient on Offense and Win with “Death by a Thousand Cuts”

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.

2. Win in the Trenches

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 their edge rushers, but Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo have been a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line. The Eagles rank 27th in defensive pressure rate. The interior of Steve Avila, Beaux Limmer, and Kevin Dotson must keep the pocket clean for Stafford.

On the other side of the ball, this will be the first real test for the Rams defensive line. Jared Verse and Byron Young have been very good on the edge with Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner doing work inside. With that said, this is one of the best offensive lines in football. Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata are the best offensive tackle duo in the NFL. Whether or not Verse can win with his power and then Turner and Fiske win inside will be a difference in this game.

3. Keep Jalen Hurts in the Pocket and Force Him to Attack the Middle

That leads us directly to the next point here. At times this season, the Rams have struggled defending mobile quarterbacks that can extend the play. They allowed big plays to Kyler Murray earlier in the season. Drake Maye extended a few plays last week as well. Jalen Hurts has the ability to scramble and when he does, he is very dangerous. Hurts has 251 scramble yards this season which is the fourth-most among quarterbacks.

It’s not just about keeping Hurts in the pocket, but also forcing him to win over the middle of the field. The Eagles quarterback will attack the boundaries consistently and that’s where he prefers to go. AJ Brown is likely going to have some success on the outside. However, the Rams must force Hurts to attack the middle. While he has been better recently, making the tight-window throws over the middle is an area where he can still be prone to mistakes.

4. Test Eagles defense with Motion

This isn’t to say that the Eagles have been bad against motion as they rank third in EPA per play defending motion this season. When broken down, that’s third against the pass and ninth against the run. The Eagles haven’t faced a team that utilizes motion like the Rams since early in the season. Against the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons who rank seventh and eighth in offensive plays with motion, they allowed 29 and 22 points.

The Eagles defense has done very well communicating in the secondary as of late and passing off players coming across the field. Still, this is going to be a matchup to watch. The Rams utilize motion at one of the highest rates in the NFL. This is an area where the Rams need to test the Eagles and adjust from there.

5. Attack the linebackers and middle of the field

It’s hard to say where exactly to attack the Eagles defense. Mitchell and DeJean have been to the Eagles what Verse and Fiske have been to the Rams. Baun is playing great at linebacker and even Nakobe Dean who may have been seen as a liability has been playing much better in coverage.

However, looking back at their game against the Falcons, Cousins was able to find space over the middle of the field. The Falcons’ quarterback was able to find Drake London on the same in-breakers that the Rams love to draw up for Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Dean has been better in coverage as of late, but it’s a matchup that the Rams will need to try and exploit.