Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the worst defenses in football. They had one of the best offenses to combat that, so they were still a great team, but their upside was capped as a result.
With a new defensive coordinator as well as some more pieces to work with, that unit is the ultimate X-factor of the Eagles’ 2024 season. It has the potential to be great, but can it? What might that actually do for Philadelphia?
Eagles’ Defensive Woes in 2023
In terms of expected points average (EPA) per play last season, the Eagles had the third-worst rushing defense and the fourth-worst defense overall. With their EPA per play allowed being nearly seven times higher than the closest playoff team (0.058 versus the Green Bay Packers 0.009), Philadelphia’s offense did all of the heavy lifting in 2023—ideally, that can’t be happening again.
The Eagles, while going 11-6 and threatening to boast the best record in the NFC before an abysmal six-game stretch to end the season, were 30th in points against across the NFL and seventh in points for. The offense kept them in games, but they were never able to win in a blowout because the whole 53-man roster was never able to put it together. Whether it was the offense or defense not doing their fair share, something always went wrong—that is poised to change.
Can the Eagles Return to Form with Fangio?
We can’t say for certain how much the Eagles’ defense will improve—if at all—but overhauling the coaching staff on that side of the ball and emphasizing the secondary in the 2024 NFL Draft should definitely help. Bringing in Vic Fangio, a long-time defensive guru and Pennsylvania native, a voice like his should definitely change some things around. Seeing as he hasn’t manned a bottom-27 defense in terms of points since 2005, it’s safe to say he’ll be an upgrade for the Birds.
He should do especially well (or, at least, not as poor as Sean Desai and Matt Patricia) because of one big reason: the potential in the group he is taking over. There is simply too much talent to be outdone by 29 or more teams in the league.
When the Eagles went to the Super Bowl in 2022, they had the fourth-best defense in EPA per play but did rank 23rd against the run. With their elite pass defense, they had the eighth-best points-against rate in the league—it should come as no surprise that they went 14-3, as they coupled that with the league’s third-best offense.
Considering the fact that the Eagles added Saquon Barkley during the 2024 offseason, there isn’t too much of a reason to believe their offense will actively get worse. Yes, they lost Jason Kelce, but a player of Barkley’s talent would rather inspire that Philadelphia’s offense can be better—that unit should soar no matter what.
But the defense? That’s where everything is a complete mystery. Going from 70 sacks to a measly 43 from 2022 to 2023 and severely regressing in pass defense, having a bolstered secondary with Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson could help out more than words can describe.
The sky is the limit for Fangio here, but can he put it all together? Will the Eagles’ defense be poor again? Will it be around average (which would be a significant upgrade from last season)? Or can it be great, perhaps taking Philadelphia back to their Super Bowl expectations from 2022? That’s what’s on the line.
Fangio doesn’t need to field the NFL’s best defense, because that would be asking for far too much. However, he has the tools to work with to help the Eagles shine in 2024. He has never won a Vince Lombardi Trophy partially due to a lack of roster talent through the years—the 65-year-old finally has it.
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