Vic Fangio won’t use Eagles’ offensive issues as an excuse for defense’s late-game lapses: ‘Got to find a way to finish’

Through the first four weeks of the season, the Eagles offense hasn’t been doing its defense many favors.

The offense is tied for 29th in the league in total plays at 234. Their average time per drive is 2 minutes, 43 seconds, which ranks in the bottom third. When the offense can’t stay on the field, the defense is thrust back into action, time and time again.

In the Eagles’ 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, the Eagles ran 58 plays, while the Rams ran 77. But Vic Fangio made an important clarification on the number of plays the Rams actually had.

“Eighty-three,” Fangio said Tuesday. “You just look at the play-by-plays. The penalties are plays.”

The more plays — and penalties — for the Eagles defense, the more fatigued they get, which is particularly consequential when they are called upon to come up with big stops at the end of the game.

“Well, I’m not going to insult your or anybody’s intelligence that, yeah, it has an effect, but we got to find a way to finish,” Fangio said.

The defense couldn’t finish against the Rams, allowing back-to-back touchdowns in a two-minute span late in the fourth quarter. Fangio was pleased with his team’s showing on the first 10 drives, limiting the Rams to a touchdown and a field goal. But even though the offense might put them in difficult situations, Fangio still acknowledged it’s on the defense to make a stop.

“We just got to find a way to finish,” Fangio said. “We got to make a play in coverage, make a play in the pass rush, make a perfect call, and find a way to get it done.”

Meanwhile, the pass rush has been “inconsistent,” Fangio said. He used the same word to describe the pass rush in the aftermath of the Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders.

The Eagles rank in the middle of the pack with a 35.8% pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats. They have a 2.6% sack rate, which is 30th in the NFL. But Fangio isn’t necessarily fixated on the box score.

“We just haven’t been consistently really good against one-on-ones,” Fangio said. “There’s always going to be some chips that affect you, but when we are getting some one-on-ones, we’re not getting it done on a consistent basis.

“We had some games that applied some pressure and did some good things against their backs and tight ends, but the normal down-to-down one-on-ones, we’ve got to get better there.”

The pass rush hasn’t been operating at 100%, though. Jalen Carter is nursing a wrist injury that requires him to wear a cast in games. Fangio said it affected him more against the Rams than it had previously.

Carter still played 83% of the defensive snaps, bringing him to 82% on the season. Fangio conceded that Carter is “possibly” playing too much.

At the same time, Fangio has been selective with his usage of Jordan Davis. He played a season-low 34.5% of the defensive snaps, in part because the Rams were in three-wide receiver sets more than anticipated (Rams tight end Colby Parkinson had been listed as questionable to play and was inactive, and tight end Terrance Ferguson was placed on injured reserve Friday).

While Fangio may have preferred an extra defensive back over a defensive lineman in those situations, he said that he “probably” needs to get Davis more snaps, and that he hasn’t given Davis enough opportunities to rush the passer.

Regardless, Fangio said he is confident that the pass rush will improve as the season progresses.

“A lot of times, too, we’ve lost two sacks the last two games due to penalties,” Fangio continued. “Sometimes the ball is coming out quick, like previous games. I know you guys have a love affair with the sack stat, but the ball is coming out quick a lot.”

Quinyon Mitchell left Sunday’s game with a knee injury. While he was deemed questionable to return and he remained on the sideline, he did not take another snap for the rest of the contest.

Fangio said he is “hopeful” Mitchell will be available to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday, but he was not definitive.

“We’ll find out more as the week goes,” Fangio said.

If Mitchell can’t go, Jonathan Jones will likely start in his place. Jones, 33, hadn’t taken meaningful defensive snaps in a regular-season game since January as a member of the Washington Commanders. He was also sidelined during training camp with a shoulder injury.

“I thought he did good for, really, his first action in a long time,” Fangio said.

Similarly, Fangio said it’s “too early to tell” if Jonathan Greenard will be able to play against the Jaguars. The 29-year-old outside linebacker left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury.

Fangio also said that he didn’t know if Marcus Epps, the 30-year-old safety, would be healthy enough to return to action this week. He popped up on the injury report with a groin injury last week and was ruled out. If Epps can’t start, Fangio could turn again to Michael Carter II, whose performance against the Rams he labeled as “good.”