Eagles’ defensive coordinator is drawing backlash after their loss against the Bears. The team went 27-7 in the game, but the problem was Vic Fangio’s defense, which failed to stop Bears quarterback Case Keenum. Now, he is drawing retirement calls.
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“Vic Fangio, it might be time to hang it up,” The Eagles Wire’s Victor Williams said on X.
Case Keenum had not played in an NFL game since Xmas Eve 2023, but he stepped in for the Bears, and delivered a strong performance. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing an interception.
The Eagles entered Week 3 with a 2-0 record, but their defense already had some problems to fix. Philadelphia had missed 12 tackles against the Titans last week, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio admitted his unit needed to “close space a little bit better.” However, those issues showed up again against the Bears, as Philadelphia struggled to stop Chicago’s offense.
The biggest defensive mistake came in the third quarter when the Eagles completely lost track of Kalif Raymond. Keenum found him unguarded, and Raymond ran 41 yards for a touchdown without being touched, making the coverage breakdown even worse.
Keenum took advantage of the Eagles’ poor defense throughout the game. In the first quarter, with about 10:52 left, Keenum found Sam Roush for a 16-yard completion.
During the Bears’ second scoring drive, Keenum hit Luther Burden for 25 yards, then found Rome Odunze for 22 yards on the next play with Marcus Epps covering him.
On top of it, the Bears quarterback kept his perfect 4-0 record against the Eagles’ DC. Before this game, in all three previous ones, Keenum completed 59 of 83 passes for 528 yards and three touchdowns, while never throwing an interception. That unbeaten record gave him confidence as he faced Fangio again.
Interestingly, Keenum wasn’t supposed to start, but the team was dealing with injuries at quarterback. Caleb Williams suffered a Grade 2 hamstring injury in Week 2 and could miss up to four weeks. Backup Tyson Bagent also suffered a concussion in the same game. While Bagent has been cleared to play, FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that he did not have enough time to prepare, so the Bears decided to start Keenum instead.
After the game, the Eagles head coach did take responsibility.
“I think we all have to own that loss. I don’t think anyone coached well; I don’t think anyone played well. It was a true team loss, and when it’s a true team loss, I have to look at myself first,” Nick Sirianni said after the game.
“We weren’t ready to coach, we weren’t ready to play, and that ultimately starts and ends with me. It’s my responsibility. Every product on that field is my responsibility. I didn’t do a good enough job.”
That messed-up game didn’t sit well with fans as they started urging Fangio to retire and also criticized him.
One of them said, “Yeah, man think the game has passed him by. Because our defense is pure Swiss cheese.”
Just putting up seven points against the Bears didn’t look good on either the Eagles’ or Fangio’s record, and that’s what this fan is describing: “He looking washed as f–k.”
Then there’s one fan who’s straight away calling for Fangio to retire, saying, “He needs to go.”
Looking at defensive inconsistencies, one of the fans pointed to Fangio’s inability to build a solid defense, saying, “Vic Fangio doesn’t have it anymore. Gonna be a long season.”
With so many harsh comments, it’s pretty clear that the Eagles want clear results, and for now, Vic Fangio is not able to give them.