As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for a showdown for the ages in Los Angeles, taking it to the Los Angeles Rams on their home SoFi Stadium turf, one of the matchups fans around the NFL are looking forward to most is the battle between Sean McVay's offense and Vic Fangio's defense.
Two of the historically best units in the NFL, with disciples running derivatives of their schemes all over the league due to their effectiveness, will McVay and his veteran offense led by Matthew Stafford be able to score off Fangio's defense? Or will a unit headlined by rookie phenoms Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean prove too much for even McVay to master, justifying all of those claims that the Eagles should be considered Super Bowl contenders based on their strong defensive play alone?
Discussing the matchup with reporters on Friday, McVay reflected on the last time he coached against Fangio before noting that Week 12 should serve as the ultimate matchup for the two units moving forward.
“I think more than anything you learn that that was a really humbling night. They did a great job. I think very similar to what I talked about that year in the Super Bowl, [I’m] not afraid to admit, there were things that I didn't do a good enough job of putting our players in spots. I give the players for the opposing teams a ton of credit. I thought [Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] and his coaching staff put together an outstanding game plan, regulated a lot of the things that we were doing at the time, and it forced a lot of reflection,” McVay told reporters.
“That was a good learning experience for me, and you try to apply those things whether you win or lose. There have been a lot of instances where teams have tried to replicate similar things to what was on display that night. What I have a lot of respect for with Coach Fangio is that he has an adaptability of flexibility and an identity that is whatever suits that game, that game plan, or that team that he's on. You always bring the sunshine. It was a great night for us. It was a good learning op though, but very humbling.”
Interesting stuff, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as one of the Rams' star receivers had some interesting things to say about Fangio's scheme, too.
Cooper Kupp also has a ton of respect for Vic Fangio's defense
Discussing his own experience playing Fangio's defense during his Bears tenure, Kupp broke down how the Eagles are executing their coach's scheme during his weekly media session, noting that he has a lot of respect for how Philadelphia is executing.
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“They're good across the board. Obviously, they're playing at a very high level. I thought [Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Coach [Vic] Fangio has done a really good job with them and he's done a good job just throughout his career in terms of the defenses that he’s had. These guys seem like they've picked up how to play this thing really well and play with each other,” Kupp told reporters.
“Obviously, the front is playing really well. They have some really good football players up there. The back end is playing off each other and communicating well with linebackers flying around. As a defense, they're really sound and it's a scheme that has been proven to be pretty successful in this league. I have a lot of respect for it and the players they have.”
On paper, both McVay and Kupp have a right to be worried about Fangio's defense, as it currently ranks seventh in rushing defense and second in passing defense through ten games of action. While the Rams most certainly know this and will have some plan in place to try their best to slow down what Philly is doing, this might be the rare game where McVay has to play reactive football to what the defense is doing instead of dictating the tone with his own offensive decisionmaking.
