Vic Fangio's Eagles Defense Has Come Around Just In Time To Challenge Jayden Daniels

For all those of you who love to complain about Thursday Night Football matchups — and justifiably so, for the most part — you can take Week 11 off. Few thought that this game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders would be as crucial as it is, but we have the 7-2 Eagles vs. the 7-3 Commanders for control of the NFC East, and quite possibly the NFC itself if things continue to progress as they are. 

For the Commanders, it's been all about rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has met or exceeded any expectations anybody could have had of him, no matter how high he was on anybody's Big Board. Daniels, Washington's run game, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury have combined to create a highly dangerous offense that can kill you any way you'd like. 

For the Eagles, whose 2023 record of 11-6 was an obvious mirage (especially after a 10-1 start), it's been about head coach Nick Sirianni letting go of the play-calling reins on offense in favor of Kellen Moore, the addition of running back Saquon Barkley, and the avoidance of putting too much on the shoulders of quarterback Jalen Hurts. 

It has also been quite a bit about what legendary defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has done, especially since the Eagles' Week 5 bye. All over this defense, there are burgeoning playmakers either just getting their feet wet in the NFL, or finally finding the right roles in this defense to make the most of things. 

There are three defenders of specific note who could challenge everything that the Commanders will bring to the table. Let’s start with Quinyon Mitchell, the first-round rookie from Toledo. Mitchell was perhaps the toolsiest cornerback in this draft class, and while he took some lumps early on, he's been nails since the bye while being asked to defend some of the NFL's best receivers. From Weeks 1-4, Mitchell had allowed 14 catches on 23 targets for 213 yards, 39 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 91.4.

Since the bye, Mitchell has allowed nine catches on 17 targets for 78 yards, 10 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 65.3. No matter who he's covering one-on-one, Mitchell has the skills and the stones to shut people down. 

And for a guy who rarely played press coverage in college, and only really got to show those skills at the Senior Bowl before the NFL's challenges came around, Mitchell seems to be a young savant when asked to face up against any target. 

Second-round rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean from Iowa is a different breed of cat. He played everywhere on the field for the Hawkeyes, and Fangio has narrowed that focus to DeJean as a slot bully/Tasmanian Devil who can either dominant in short and intermediate coverage, or crash down to take away run plays and yards after catch opportunities. When Fangio elevated DeJean over Avonte Maddox as the team's primary slot defender post-bye, all of Vic's light-box stuff started to make a lot more sense. 

While Mitchell has improved since the bye, DeJean was seemingly able to hit the ground running with little prep. 

Finally, there's veteran linebacker Zack Baun, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Eagles this offseason after four years with the New Orleans Saints. Baun's original NFL team saw him more as an outside linebacker, occasional pass-rusher, and special teams star. That's how Eagles general manager Howie Roseman presented Baun to Fangio. But after watching Baun's tape, Fangio saw more. 

"When I evaluate players, there’s no check box, things you check off," Fangio said of Baun this week. "You just watch the tape, watch the movement patterns, watch the player play.

"Howie brought him up to me first, but he had a vision for him as a backup outside linebacker/special teams demon. And after I watched it, I said no, I think he’s an inside linebacker. Luckily, it hit."

Boy, did it ever. Baun is the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week after a 34-6 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys in which he had eight tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss. Like DeJean, Baun has become an intelligent animal all over the field, and when you're running all those light boxes as Fangio loves to call, your linebackers and slot defenders had best be on point. 

So, that's the attendant matchup to watch in this important game — Washington's great offense, which everybody already knows about, against an Eagles defense which has really come around of late with an ideal combination of personnel and scheme.