The Philadelphia Eagles have a 1-0 record and an early divisional win in the bag. For the most part, many view Vic Fangio's defense as one of the main reasons that's true. Fangio isn't celebrating. That's to be expected. He isn't handing out participation trophies for his unit's performance.
The Eagles held the Washington Commanders to 22 points and fewer than 300 yards. Still, the defensive coordinator identified plenty that needs to improve before Philadelphia travels to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans. The pass rush, in particular, didn't meet his standards, and the fourth quarter raised another concern.
Washington's Jayden Daniels made life difficult with his legs, particularly on the final two scoring drives. The Eagles didn't record
their first sack until the fourth quarter. While the defense created pressure throughout the afternoon, Fangio didn't believe his front consistently won the individual battles required to finish those opportunities. He expressed this while meeting with the media on Tuesday.
"I thought our pass rush overall, when our guys that mainly rushed the passer, was inconsistent and really wasn't good enough... There's a lot of reasons here and there. Mobile quarterback plays into that. We just didn't win enough of our one-on-ones across the board."
That assessment is notable because the Eagles didn't exactly get overwhelmed statistically. Washington finished with 298 total yards, but Daniels repeatedly escaped pressure and extended plays with his legs. The Eagles can live with some of that against a quarterback with Daniels' skill set, but Fangio clearly wants more from a defense with plenty of talent.
Coach Fangio also didn't appear interested in using the early-season calendar as an excuse for what happened late. When asked whether the first few games can feel like an extension of the preseason because starters don't get as much work before the regular season, Fangio offered a characteristically blunt response.
"Yeah, except these games count."
When asked whether that reality changes how he approaches game planning, Fangio said, "It doesn't." That response became even more pointed when the discussion turned toward players still getting into football shape and Fangio's major takeaways from the contest.
"They should be in shape. If they're not, that's an indictment on our training staff and strength staff... [I'm] disappointed in their three scoring drives. There’s some scoring drives you give up where the other team just beats you. They’ve got good players and good coaches, too. But I think we could have played a little better in some of those instances from our just overall play, so that was a little frustrating."
That's probably the part worth remembering. Fangio isn't interested in blaming Week 1 for the Eagles' fourth-quarter struggles. He wants the pass rush to win its one-on-one battles, and he expects his players to be physically prepared to do it for 60 minutes.
The Eagles got the result they needed Sunday. Their defensive coordinator made it clear Tuesday that the performance itself still left plenty to fix. They have the right guys in place. It's fair to expect a better overall performance in Week 2.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Vic Fangio sends a blunt message about the Eagles' Week 1 pass rush
