From a delicate defense to an immoveable object.
Despite the 10-1 start in 2023, the Philadelphia Eagles crumbled – losing five of their final six games and conceding 30.3 points per game.
This was despite Nick Sirianni replacing defensive coordinator, Sam Desai, in December of 2023 with Matt Patricia.
A 32-9 defeat in the NFC Wild Card round at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers confirmed what every Philadelphia fan already knew, drastic change was needed if they were ever going to reach another Super Bowl.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Vic Fangio, recently of the Miami Dolphins, was the man Sirianni entrusted to overhaul this feeble defensive unit.
Things did not start the way Fangio would have hoped. By Week 4, the Eagles had already suffered an embarrassing blowout defeat – again to Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield was allowed to throw for a whopping 347 yards in that game.
Fans were alarmed that their new defensive coordinator’s ‘bend don’t break’ defense would lead them to another year of misery.
Fangio stood defiant and called for patience. Now Philadelphia are reaping the rewards. They sit top of the NFC East with arguably one of the league’s most resilient defensive units.
The numbers do not lie
Philadelphia currently top the NFL in total defense statistics, allowing an average of just 273.1 yards per game.
They are second in the league for passing yards against, allowing 173.2 yards per game.
And this Eagles unit has conceded the sixth-fewest points in the NFL – with an average of 17.9 points per game.
But the most impressive change that Vic Fangio instigated was not to the defensive unit as a whole, but to Zack Baun.
Baun was originally recruited to be a back-up outside linebacker but when reviewing tapes, the former Miami coach decided a change could benefit the player.
Now playing as an off-ball linebacker, Zack Baun has made an outstanding 64 solo tackles this season – tied for the second most in the league.
This defense has came on leaps and bounds since that gut-wrenching defeat in Tampa Bay.
Can Fangio and his men continue this display of dominance for the rest of the year?
