After the Thanksgiving slate of games, Matt Eberflus, a frequent member of the wrong side of this column, was fired for losing the Chicago Bears another game. Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, another frequent member of the dislikes section, forced my hand to include him again. On the positive side, coordinator Vic Fangio has the Philadelphia Eagles defense playing like the best in the league. We’ll also look at late-game aggressiveness by Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen and the lack thereof from Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon in this week’s best and worst coaching decisions.
Fangio’s dreamland
The Eagles might have the most idealized version of Fangio’s defense. They have a dominant defensive line that can handle the run without safety help, versatile safeties, a great nickel and a suffocating cornerback.
This defense could be many defensive coordinators’ dream roster, but every piece fits perfectly into what Fangio wants to do. When his defense is at its best, it can defend against the run with light boxes and the secondary plays so in sync it’s hard to decipher what the coverage rules are even when watching in slow motion on film.
That’s exactly what the Eagles are doing right now, and they make a strong case for being the best defense in the league. They held the Baltimore Ravens offense (No. 1 in offensive DVOA) to only one touchdown Sunday — the first time this season. They also held them to by far their lowest yards per play of the season (5.2). Before Week 13, the Ravens were on track to be the only team ever to average 7 yards per play. The Eagles knocked them down to 6.8 YPP for the season.
Even with the ever-dangerous Derrick Henry in the backfield, Fangio trusted his defensive front to handle the run while keeping two safeties deep, and they did exactly that. They would rotate late into single-high coverages, but the safeties hardly had to get involved in the run because the front was so disruptive.
They made Lamar Jackson hesitate with their coverage disguises and got to him with a disciplined pass rush. Jackson seldomly takes sacks, but the Eagles did it three times. They pressured him on 64.7 percent of dropbacks — by far, the highest rate of the season for the Ravens offense. They also didn’t use a quarterback spy. Instead, Fangio implemented a coordinated pass-rush plan anchored by defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who wrecked the game.
12:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, second-and-10
Here, the Eagles started with a two-deep shell. The Ravens motioned receiver Zay Flowers into a bunch formation, which can be tough for defenses to adjust to before the snap. No one followed Flowers across the formation, which could indicate the Eagles might be playing zone coverage. Corner Quinyon Mitchell and nickel Cooper DeJean were originally lined up to the two-receiver side.
After the snap, the Eagles rotated into Cover 1 (man-to-man with a deep safety and robber). DeJean bumped out to cover Flowers, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson rotated down to take tight end Isaiah Likely, and linebacker Nakobe Dean played robber in the middle of the field.
Mitchell, who was covering receiver Tylan Wallace on a shallow route, passed him off to Dean and dropped off to replace Dean as the robber in the middle of the field. This assignment switch between an outside corner and an inside linebacker shows how in sync this defense is playing.
Likely did appear to get open on a crosser, but as he passed the robber’s zone, Jackson was pressured up the middle.
When the Eagles rushed, they would either have their ends or defensive tackles playing passively. In this example, the ends played slow to contain Jackson, and the defensive tackles were free to aggressively rush.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams, who is having a breakout season, forced Jackson outside of the pocket where edge linebacker Jalyx Hunt was waiting for him.
Not only are the star players playing at their best, but the Eagles have several role players stepping up and producing as well. The vibes are peaking in Philadelphia right now.
Steichen goes for two to win
Being aggressive isn’t always the right decision after scoring a late touchdown with the opportunity to tie the score with an extra point or go ahead with a 2-point conversion. For example, you wouldn’t want to go for 2 if the other team has time and timeouts to get into field goal position. Your best bet is to take the game into overtime.
Steichen made the absolute right decision to go for 2 regardless of whether they made it or not after scoring a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Colts were on the road and the New England Patriots didn’t have much time to answer. Also, the Colts’ quarterback run game with Anthony Richardson was very efficient throughout the game. Steichen called a power read play. The line didn’t block the play like it was drawn up, but Richardson was able to power through to win the game.
COLTS TAKE THE LEAD ON THE 2-PT CONVERSION.
12 SECONDS LEFT.
📺: #INDvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gZFuDHjLky— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
Pierce’s epic return
I swore off including Antonio Pierce on the dislikes list, but after a nationally televised game Friday in which terrible coaching cost the Raiders a chance for a massive upset, the ban must be temporarily lifted. The Raiders were down by 2 points to the Kansas City Chiefs with 2:21 remaining in the game, forced a three-and-out, drove into field goal range but lost the ball on a botched snap.
How is this the coach’s fault? Let’s recap.
1. With 2:24 remaining in the game, quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw an incomplete pass on third-and-11 with the ball on the Chiefs’ 40-yard line. Pierce decided to punt but reportedly changed his mind after kicker Daniel Carlson told him he could make a 58-yard kick. The decision came late, so the Raiders burned their first timeout. Carlson missed the kick.
2. The Raiders got the ball back and drove into field goal position using their remaining timeouts and the two-minute warning. After a 7-yard pass to Ameer Abdullah, the Raiders had the ball on the Chiefs’ 32-yard line and were well into field goal range. Abdullah was tackled in bounds with 29 seconds remaining and the clock kept moving. On second down, the Raiders could have drained the clock before spiking, which seemed to be their intent, but O’Connell spiked the ball with 15 seconds remaining. The coach-to-quarterback headset communication was still on so O’Connell could have been told to wait but there seemed to be indecision among players and coaches.
3. On third-and-2, Pierce said the play was supposed to be a throwaway to burn four to five seconds. However, the decision seemed to come in late because the Raiders broke the huddle late and the receivers didn’t get set on time. O’Connell was watching his receivers get set when the ball was unexpectedly snapped. The Raiders could have simply run the ball if they still had a timeout.
Good staffs talk through these situations before the game. They know what they want to do in certain situations before they arise so there isn’t indecision and they’re all on the same page. Of course, some situations are harder to prepare for, but the Raiders seem unprepared far too often, inviting chaos. The silver lining is they have the second pick of the draft.
Eberflus’ last appearance
Eberflus cost the Bears yet another game because of his decision-making, or in this case, indecision. The Bears lost a winnable game because of a coaching decision for the third time in five weeks.
1. Week 8 against the Washington Commanders, Eberflus calls a prevent defense too early, allowing the Commanders to set up for the infamous Hail Mary.
2. Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers, with a timeout in his pocket, Eberflus elects to let the clock wind down and settle for a 46-yard field goal, which was blocked. After the game, Packers players said they knew Cairo Santos kicks with a low trajectory on longer kicks.
3. Week 13, the Bears came back from a 16-0 deficit and had a chance to tie the Detroit Lions with a field goal. After driving the ball into Lions territory, the Bears appeared to call a draw play in which quarterback Caleb Williams was tackled behind the line of scrimmage on the Lions’ 41-yard line with 32 seconds left. Instead of using their final timeout, Williams tried to change the play and snapped the ball too late. They got a play off, but time expired on the pass.
Williams was partially at fault for trying to change the play. Their goal was to throw a quick pass and call their final timeout, but Eberflus should have called the timeout once he saw his rookie quarterback struggling. They should have called a timeout immediately after Williams was tackled. With 32 seconds, they could have run a play, rushed the field goal team on the field and kicked with time expiring, or if they miraculously converted on third-and-26, there would have been plenty of time to spike the ball.
One of these mistakes by a coach during the season is glaring, but for it to happen three times in five weeks is unheard of. It’s even worse because of Eberflus’ seeming lack of accountability for these mistakes and even saying he liked what the Bears did at the end of the Detroit game.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Adam Jahns reported the players were furious with Eberflus after the game. Coaches shouldn’t cost teams wins with game-management mistakes. The players putting their bodies on the line can’t accept that and owners don’t like getting embarrassed in front of a national audience, hence why the Bears fired a coach in-season for the first time in their history.
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Cardinal sin
Jonathan Gannon and the Cardinals staff are doing one of the best coaching jobs in the NFL. They have unique schemes that are hard to prepare for on both sides of the ball. We likely won’t see them on the wrong side of this article too often. However, Gannon made a mistake by settling for a field goal from the Minnesota Vikings’ 4-yard line with 3:23 remaining in the game.
Greg Olsen, the commentator for the game, perfectly explained it on the broadcast. The Cardinals had a 3-point lead and went up 6 instead of going for a touchdown. Going up 6 points isn’t much different from being up 3 points with enough time remaining to drive the length of the field. You’re still susceptible to losing the game on a touchdown. Going up 6 also puts the opponents into do-or-die mode. They are going to be aggressive getting downfield and going for fourth downs. If the Cardinals failed to make it on fourth down, the Vikings would have to start their drive on their 4-yard line and would be more conservative knowing they could tie the score with a field goal.
For example, on the Vikings’ game-winning drive, they faced a fourth-and-5 situation. They would have likely settled for a 50-yard field goal if they were down 3. But because their hand was forced, they went for it and converted.
The Cardinals are ahead of schedule in their rebuild under Gannon. They’re going to be in a lot of high-leverage situations if they continue their trajectory. Gannon has been notoriously conservative on fourth downs. With everything else that he does well as a coach, hopefully, this game becomes a turning point for him.
Gannon on the decision to kick a field goal to go up 6 late against the Vikings
“I just wanted to go up more than a field goal there … I wanted to make them score a touchdown to beat us there.” pic.twitter.com/gqBTAGUt9u
— Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) December 1, 2024
(Photo of Vic Fangio: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
