Man, talk about a gut punch. The Eagles had a solid 20-10 lead over the Rams, deep into the fourth quarter last Sunday, and somehow, they still managed to blow it, losing after the Rams scored back-to-back touchdowns in the final four minutes. You just hate to see it when a lead like that vanishes so quickly.
Defense Couldn’t Catch a Break, or a Stop
The Rams’ late-game surge was brutal. Their first scoring drive kicked off from their own 2-yard-line, which is just demoralizing for any defense. Then they followed it up with another march, this one covering a full 79 yards. What really grinds your gears is that on those 21 snaps, which made up those two crucial scoring possessions, Los Angeles only faced two third downs. Think about that for a second: the Rams barely had any pressure on third down in those game-winning drives. It makes you wonder what was going on out there.
Fangio’s Frustration Is Real
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio didn’t pull any punches when he was asked about the cumulative effect of the defense being on the field for a whopping 82 snaps. That’s including penalties, by the way, and it excludes one kneeldown at the very end. His response was blunt, as it should be. “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, according to the team’s transcript. He’s right, you can’t deny 82 snaps takes a toll, but at the end of the day, you have to close out the game. It just didn’t happen.
Fangio was clear: the Eagles just couldn’t finish, and that goes for both sides of the ball. If the offense keeps sputtering and failing to do their part in the future, it’s only going to make the defense’s job that much harder. The pressure is on, big time.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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