Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Film Review: Vic Fangio’s defense was unbelievably excellent

THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! This post needs no introduction. What an unbelievable performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. LET’S GO!

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Defense

Cooper DeJean. A rookie cornerback who the Eagles’ fans will forever know as the cornerback who intercepted Patrick Mahomes and returned it for a touchdown. He’s had a phenomenal year. His best trait is the ability to get physical at the line of scrimmage. He was outstanding in press coverage in this game, and his ability to blow up short throws, like this one, is a cheat code. The Chiefs’ offense desperately wants to stress you horizontally. They run a lot of stuff like this. They couldn’t get anything going on the edge at all, and a huge reason why was the Eagles’ young defensive back, Cooper DeJean. He has a fantastic tackler in space. It’s not the time to get into long-term projections, but I think DeJean is the perfect nickel for this defense. He has absolutely nailed this role. Playing nickel cornerback in this defense is complex, and he’s smashed it as a rookie.

The Eagles played single-high man coverage from their DIME package once during the entire game. It came on the first 3rd down of the game. I have no idea why, and I’d love to know if Vic Fangio did this to make Andy Reid think he would run more man coverage than he did. Fangio did not do this for the rest of the game! Regardless, what I love about this call is that Fangio did exactly what I wanted him to do. He got eyes on Travis Kelce in the middle of the field (in this case, it comes from the safety in a robber position), and he let his outside cornerbacks win on the outside. This was a fantastic rep of defense in so many ways. Remarkably, the defense didn’t play any more man coverage on 3rd down like this rep, despite the fact they did it this well in this rep! If the Chiefs had had more success against the Eagles’ zone coverage, I think the Eagles could have gone back to this style of defense if necessary. But, it wasn’t required!

I’ve already spoken about Cooper DeJean. DeJean is very good. However, Quinyon Mitchell is absurd. He’s ridiculous. He’s a rookie cornerback who barely ever gets beat. In this game alone, I watched him run down the field step-by-step with Xavier Worthy (who ran a 4.21 40 – and was in motion!) like it was easy. The fact that he can run with Worthy here is ridiculous. However, he already has the aura of a top cornerback. I find that mad. There is no one anywhere close to Worthy and Quinyon. Despite this, Mahomes doesn’t take the shot. He’s double-clutching when he sees who is running down the field with Worthy. The talent that the Eagles have in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean is remarkable. Howie Roseman owes the other general managers a lot for letting those two cornerbacks fall into his lap!

This was an incredible moment. It’s an awful rep by Patrick Mahomes, who was badly impacted by the Eagles’ pass rush. He was seeing ghosts. This is a great rep by DeJean. The Eagles play ‘box’ coverage over the Chiefs’ strong side and they do a great job distributing the Chiefs’ routes. One of the routes that will always be hard to cover is the crossing route from the weak side. DeJean never looks to his right once, but he feels it coming and does a great job reading Mahomes’ eyes. Mahomes makes a dreadful decision and DeJean makes him pay. This will go down as one of my favorite moments as an Eagles’ fan. This was awesome. DeJean is athletic and smart. That’s a decent combination.

The Eagles’ run defense was so good that the Chiefs didn’t even bother trying to run. I can’t say enough positive things about Nolan Smith over the second half of the season. There are not many EDGE defenders who play as hard as he does against the run. He was doing this stuff in college, and I wondered if it would translate, considering his size. Well, it has translated! He’s taking on a huge guard here at the point of attack, and he rocks him back. Then Moro Ojomo gets in the act. The Eagles’ run defense has been a big reason why this defense has been outstanding for a while.

This is beautiful. It’s as good as it gets for me. I’m going to take a victory lap now … here is what I said in the Eagles’ preview:

I have good news! I think this Eagles’ defense matches up extremely well with this Chiefs’ offense. I went back and watched every sack of Mahomes and every interception he threw. There are some pretty clear themes. Firstly, you need to get the offense behind the sticks. You must win on early downs. Stop the 1st and 10 runs.

Then you play split-safety coverages and rush 4. You can run some simulated pressures, but Mahomes is very quick to diagnose pressure. I prefer rushing 4, playing zone (bracketing Kelce) and allowing the outside cornerbacks to go one-on-one with the Chiefs’ receivers. Rush 4, collapse the pocket with good rush lane integrity, and get numerous defenders around Kelce. Mahomes and Kelce play a lot of ‘buddy ball’ where Kelce will find any open space against the defense. This is why playing man coverage is risky. Play zone coverage, be disciplined in coverage, and get bodies around Kelce.

Fangio did exactly what I wanted. He didn’t create a brand new game plan for this game. He didn’t do what the Bills’ defense did and play a bunch of man coverage. He played his own defense. This was peak Fangio. He sent 4 pass rushers and played a ton of zone coverage behind it. It may sound easy to call… and that’s because it is! It’s not the play calling that’s exceptional. It’s Fangio’s ability to communicate what he wants and coach the players (as well as his own coaches). This team is so disciplined in the secondary. It was a joy to watch. The Eagles play ‘Trix’ coverage here to take away any crossing routes from the strong side (Trix is a tag where the weak side safety deals with any crossing routes from the strong side), and this leaves the weak side defenders in one-on-one coverage. Quinyon Mitchell locks up Travis Kelce who simply couldn’t get open. This is beautiful.

This is a combination of really good play by the Eagles’ defense and awful play by the Chiefs’ offense. Josh Sweat was outstanding as a pass rusher all game long. The Eagles’ defense as a whole did an incredible job getting pressure when rushing 4 whilst still maintaining rush lane integrity. Mahomes couldn’t get out the pocket to buy himself extra time, so he started to panic and began forcing things. He feels the pressure from Sweat here and tries to fit in a throw behind Zack Baun. Bad move. The Eagles’ defense is going to lose some players this off-season, but they CANNOT lose Baun. Pay the man whatever he wants. He can’t be allowed to leave.

I think Andy called some great concepts in the second half that tested Fangio’s defensive rules and allowed receivers to get open down the field. I don’t think the secondary was perfect. However, Fangio remained aggressive and continued to call a similar style of defense (which relied on flooding the middle of the field and leaving some space outside) but it worked because he knew he could pressure. In all honesty, this wasn’t a great defensive rep. This wasn’t good by the Chiefs. The Eagles were great, but you need some luck in games like this, too! If Jalen Hurts played like Patrick Mahomes did in this game, I don’t even want to know what some members of the media would have said…

This is my favorite play of the night. It showcases exactly what I hoped Fangio was going to call in this game. Look how uncomfortable Mahomes is in the pocket! The Eagles leave the outside receivers one-on-one, which allows them to crowd the middle of the field and get bodies around Kelce. The Chiefs just didn’t have the talent on the outside to win, which is something I predicted pre-game.

They just don’t have the talent to win on the outside. It’s all about stopping Kelce and winning on early downs.

However, asking to play one-on-one on the outside is one thing. Actually calling it against the best quarterback and play designer in the NFL, with a rookie at outside cornerback, is easier said than done. Fangio trusted his outside cornerbacks, and they repaid him. Darius Slay was incredible, too. This play is exactly what I wanted to see.

Here’s an example that once again shows the Chiefs getting a receiver free down the field. It’s another good concept from Reid. But it doesn’t matter! The Chiefs’ offensive line simply could not handle the Eagles’ pass rush. Just look how good the rush lane integrity is here. That stopped Mahomes from getting outside the pocket and creating. The Eagles’ defensive coaches were so well prepared for this Chiefs’ offense and prevented them from getting in rhythm.

I wanted Brandon Graham to get a sack, so badly. I expect him to retire, but he can still play! If he wants to play another season, I’m all in. Just watch the athleticism on display by Jalen Carter here. The guy is an absolute freak.

The Eagles’ pass rush did finally slow down, and the Chiefs took advantage. This was too little too late, though. The Chiefs had been dialing up these deep shots all game, but the protection just could not hold up. If I were a Chiefs’ fan, I’d be incredibly disappointed in the Chiefs’ game plan. They tried to hit these deep-crossing routes too frequently and the risk was not worth the reward. I know DeJean technically gets beat here, but I think it’s pretty impressive that he keeps up with Worthy and makes the tackle. Worthy is a serious talent. His numbers look impressive, but this was a garbage-time performance. The Eagles dealt with him well when the game was on the line.

The Chiefs are the best in the business at this stuff. Mahomes and Kelce have a unique understanding that is almost impossible to stop. They looked out of sync in this game. You can call it luck, but I think a lot had to do with the Eagles completely throwing off the timing of the Chiefs’ offense. If it wasn’t the pass rush, it was press coverage by DeJean or Quinyon. DeJean did a great job getting his hands on Kelce and throwing off the timing of the route. DeJean’s ability to redirect routes and use his hands in coverage without getting flagged is fantastic. This was a big reason the Eagles were able to slow down Kelce and the Chiefs’ offense.

Let’s end with this one. I’m not breaking down any garbage time. The Chiefs don’t deserve that. Once again, the Eagles leave Slay one-on-one and he covers the post perfectly. Quinyon is left to deal with Kelce, and he knows he has inside help, so he plays with outside leverage. Every defensive player knew exactly where they had help and how to handle the Chiefs’ offense. This team was SO well prepared. Milton Williams will probably get paid by another team and he deserves a huge contract. He’s a fantastic player who will be missed. I trust in this defense’s ability to identify talent on the defensive line and replace him though! Although, if there is a way he could be kept, I wouldn’t complain…

This was an outstanding defensive performance for so many reasons. The players and coaches deserve such a huge amount of praise. I know this Chiefs’ offense has not been at its best this year, but I watched them wreck the Bills’ defense. This is a team that has won two Super Bowls in a row and is led by Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. This offense has the ability to beat any defense. The Eagles made this offense look silly at times. They had no answers. I’ve said multiple times that the Fangio’s defense can be risky because when it goes wrong it looks horrible. No one calls this defense as well as Fangio does. He’s the master. I’m so happy he finally won a Super Bowl, and he did it running his defense in its purest form. This was awesome.

SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!

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