Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio wears blame for performance vs. Cowboys: ‘I didn’t have them ready’
Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard countered that the players were to blame for the lackluster outing.
Following Monday night’s 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, in which the Eagles defense conceded a season-high 416 yards, Vic Fangio took the blame for his unit’s shortcomings.
The Eagles defensive coordinator underscored his failure to prepare his players adequately — rather than his individual players’ deficiencies — as the root cause of the group’s dismal outing.
He also pushed back on the notion that his players lacked effort.
“I didn’t do a good enough job coaching,” Fangio said. “We didn’t play the run, obviously, well enough. When you do that, it kind of affects everything. I didn’t have them ready to do that the way we need to.”
The Eagles evidently weren’t ready for Cowboys running back Javonte Williams, who rushed for a career-high 155 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. He had four explosive runs against the Eagles defense, nearly matching his total on the season going into the game.
Williams also forced eight missed tackles, according to Next Gen Stats, his season high. He also set season-highs in yards before contact (61, a career-high) and yards after contact (94, his second-most of his career).
But Fangio didn’t blame any individual player for the Cowboys’ rushing success. He said “everything” was an issue against the run. Fangio also lauded the Cowboys’ interior trio on the offensive line in left guard Tyler Smith, center Cooper Beebe, and right guard Tyler Booker and their execution in the run game.
“You have to give them credit first and foremost,” Fangio said. “They did a good job blocking us and ... they are good interiorly.”
He emphasized his belief in continuing to use light boxes against the run (although he used his lowest rate of light boxes this season at 47.4%, according to Next Gen Stats) and asking his safeties Andrew Mukuba and Kenny Moore II to fill gaps from depth.
The Eagles’ inability to stop the run helped Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott get into a rhythm in the pass game with his talented receiving corps. Prescott went 15-for-27 for 212 yards and three touchdowns, setting a career high in downfield throw rate (59.3%), according to Next Gen Stats.
He went 10-for-16 on those downfield throws (at least 10 air yards), including all three of his touchdown passes.
Prescott was hardly affected by the Eagles’ pass rush. He didn’t take a hit, let alone a sack. The Eagles’ 21.4% pressure rate was their lowest in a game this season, per Next Gen Stats.
Fangio tried to mix up their pressure looks, incorporating simulated pressures and using standard four-man fronts. Even though the Cowboys struggled against exotic looks in their Weeks 5 and 6 losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers, respectively, Fangio acknowledged that they “fixed their problems” against the Eagles and were “more than ready” to counter them.
Still, Fangio said the Eagles pressured “a fair amount,” especially considering the injuries that have hampered the outside linebackers corps.
“Our edge position was affected through the injuries that we’ve had,” Fangio said. “Guys that were playing, namely Jonathan [Greenard] and Jalyx [Hunt] weren’t 100%. [The Cowboys] did a good job pass blocking.”
Aside from Quinyon Mitchell, the Eagles secondary had a hard time containing Cowboys receivers CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Ryan Flournoy. According to Pro Football Focus, Riq Woolen conceded four catches on six targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. He also had two pass breakups.
Woolen was also flagged for holding Lamb in the third quarter. Fangio gave him some grace.
“We had no rush and the guy runs a deep in and then pivots back out, tough duty,” Fangio said.
Cooper DeJean allowed three receptions on three targets for 53 yards and a touchdown. This year, PFF has charged him with conceding three touchdowns, compared to just one in 2025 and none in 2024. However, Fangio didn’t express a sense of concern regarding his 23-year-old defensive back.
“Cooper’s a good player,” Fangio said. “Trust him totally. Has he gotten beat some? Yeah, he has, but that’s going to happen to all those guys at some point. It’ll turn and he’ll get his.”
While Fangio took the heat for the defense’s poor showing against the Cowboys, Greenard put the blame on himself and his teammates.
“There’s an element to him saying that you can kind of agree, but at the same time, how we view ourselves on defense, it don’t matter what the call is,” Greenard said. “We’ve still got to go out there and make the call look the best. And I think that we took that personal after the fact. Yeah, you can sit here and say he could have put us here or not, but most of the times, it came down to just getting off blocks.
“It was a mentality thing of just getting off and wanting to finish the play. And I think that they just had a better game that day. It [stinks] that it was Monday night in front of the fans and obviously home field. It’s unacceptable.
“So we’re not around here happy about none of this. We’re more so like, ‘Alright, let’s get to this next week so we can put this fire out.’”
How were we so wrong? Heading into the season, the Eagles’ defense was supposed to be their strength. After Monday’s throttling by the Cowboys, the group reached a new low, especially on the defensive line, where major offseason investments and commitments were made. Why has a unit that showed promise in training camp failed to live up to expectations? And how will the Eagles’ five-game losing streak influence the organization’s approach to the NFL’s impending trade deadline? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy tackle these topics and more the day after the Eagles’ 38-21 defeat to Dallas. Listen here.
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