NEW ORLEANS — Vic Fangio had gone up against Patrick Mahomes eight times, and eight times, he’d lost.
On the biggest stage of all, the Eagles’ 66-year-old defensive coordinator solved the puzzle Sunday night, as the Philadelphia Eagles dominated Mahomes, sacking him six times and taking a shutout into the third quarter of a surprisingly easy 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
In its simplest form, the Eagles’ game plan was to try to get to Mahomes by rushing just four defensive linemen and not blitzing, dropping enough defenders in coverage to not give him easy openings downfield.
“That was my hope going into the game, and our guys even exceeded my hope,” said Fangio, whose defense staked the Eagles to a 24-0 halftime lead, holding Kansas City to a single first down and 38 total yards in the first half. “Mahomes is not a guy you want to pressure a lot, because he sees it and he knows where to go with the ball, and he’s made a lot of big plays against it.”
Philadelphia got the Chiefs to miss on their first eight third downs, stifling an offense that had opened the year 15-1, clinching the top seed in the AFC with uncanny success in one-score games. The Eagles’ offense had mixed success early, with quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing an interception at the 2-yard line, so it was still just a 10-0 game midway through the second quarter.
Mahomes had been down 10 points in four other Super Bowls and had rallied back to win three of them, including against the Eagles two years ago.
Then came a game-changing sequence. Josh Sweat and rookie Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on back-to-back plays, and on third-and-16, Mahomes threw a pass that rookie corner Cooper DeJean picked off and returned 38 yards for a touchdown. Then, just before halftime, Eagles linebacker Zack Baun made a diving interception of Mahomes at the Kansas City 12. That set up an easy touchdown and a 24-0 lead just before halftime.
“It changed the game,” Fangio said. “Ten-nothing is nothing. Now 24-nothing is something. They were two huge plays that probably were the turning point in the game.”
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Sweat finished with 2.5 sacks, and the interior rotations of Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams had consistent pressure up the middle, with Williams getting two sacks and a forced fumble. They did it without help from the back end, which meant Mahomes had no easy answers once he was pressured.
“It allows the guys to cover on the back end,” Sweat said. “We don’t have to add an extra guy to do that. It’s just big ups to the guys, and that’s what we work for. When he have to send extra guys, that’s our pride, to get it with a four-man rush and get it done.”
Baun, who capped a breakout season that saw him earn Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors, had a crucial play to pick off Mahomes near the goal line. He said Fangio’s game plan was so thorough that players had confidence before the game, even going up against a quarterback with three Super Bowl wins in the previous five years.
“I told (linebacker) Oren Burks in the locker room before the game: I’ve never seen this team this ready for a game,” Baun said. “We were so well-prepared that it was easy for us to feel confident, to just go out and execute.”
Philadelphia’s defense was a major problem at the end of last season, when they went from 10-1 to 11-6 and a first-round loss in the playoffs. This was a different defense under Fangio, whose defensive fingerprints were all over Sunday’s surprisingly lopsided win.
“He’s awesome,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “These guys love him because he helps them reach their goals, helps put them in position to succeed. When you see a coach and a player develop special relationships … that’s where Vic’s special and you can see how the guys enjoy him, because he helps them reach their goals and dreams.”
Fangio had gone 0-6 against Mahomes when he was Denver’s head coach, with two more losses as Miami’s defensive coordinator, including a 26-7 loss in last year’s playoffs. Sunday’s game came in New Orleans, where he spent nine years as linebackers coach from 1986-94, going 0-4 in the playoffs in his first NFL job. With him at the helm this year, the Eagles were one of the league’s most improved defenses this year, finishing first in yards allowed and second in points allowed, and they peaked Sunday night.
“Our guys just played great,” Fangio said. “They were able to get pressure with a four-man rush, and our coverage disguises were in good shape for the most part. We changed up the coverages sometimes, and that’s what the hope was. The hope doesn’t always come true, but it did tonight.”
Fangio has been a pro coach for four decades, waiting a long time for a moment like Sunday, and the lopsided score allowed him to savor the second half and enjoy that first elusive championship after waiting so long.
“It’s a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment,” he said.
Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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