As No. 1 defense prepares for No. 1 offense, Fangio explains why Ravens are so dangerous originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The No. 1 defense in the NFL is about to face the No. 1 offense in the NFL, and the coach of the No. 1 defense was asked on Wednesday how much he relishes this sort of matchup.
“I’d rather play Swarthmore,” Vic Fangio said with a straight face.
Swarthmore hasn’t had a football team since 2000, but the immediate challenge for Fangio is the Ravens and their multifaceted attack.
The 9-2 Eagles face the 8-4 Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Sunday, and it’s an intriguing matchup of a defense that’s held nine straight opponents under 300 yards and an offense that’s averaging 32 points per game since Week 3.
The Ravens lead the NFL with 427 yards per game – 32 more than anybody else – and they’re No. 2 in points per game at 30.3, trailing only the Lions.
They’re second behind the Eagles in rushing yards per game (180) and third behind the Bengals and Seahawks in passing yards per game (263).
So they’ve got a shot at becoming the first NFL team in 83 years to lead the NFL in both rushing and passing. The NFL-championship 1941 Bears did it with 182 passing yards and 196 rushing yards per game.
“Their whole offense is dynamite,” Fangio said. “They run it great, they throw it great, they’ve got good receivers – they got the best group of receivers they’ve had there in a long time. Two really good tight ends, their line is blocking good. You know, it’s no accident they have the No. 1 offense in the league.”
Like the Eagles, the Ravens have a quarterback who can hurt you with his arm or legs and a running back in the MVP race.
In December, Lamar Jackson had one of the greatest games an NFL quarterback has ever had against Fangio’s Dolphins defense, completing 85 percent of his passes for 321 yards with five TD passes, no interceptions and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the Ravens’ 56-19 win over Miami. In 2021, Jackson threw for 316 yards and a TD in the Ravens’ 23-7 win over Fangio’s Broncos.
“I just think he’s a very special player,” Fangio said. “They have a more complete offense now than they’ve ever had, and they’ve always been good on offense since he’s been there. They’re really good, they’re really versatile, they’re multiple, their run game is multiple, the play-action game off of the run game is really good. They’re just really good.
“It’s a test. It’s a challenge. You get all that.”
Jackson has already been an MVP twice, and he’s having the best year of his career with 27 touchdowns, three INTs, an NFL-leading 3,053 passing yards, 67 percent accuracy and a monstrous 117.9 passer rating. Only Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Nick Foles have had a higher rating over a full season.
“Nobody’s been really, really successful (defending him) one way,” Fangio said. “I’ve said it many times, the definition of good quarterbacks (is) there’s no one way to play them.”
The Ravens are on pace for 7,253 yards, which would be 3rd-most in NFL history. But even just using their average of 427 yards per game, that would be 11th-highest over a full season.
“They run it effectively, they play past it effectively, they drop back effectively,” Fangio said. “You’ve got the Lamar Jackson gun run game to defend. Henry, they’ve got a lot of weapons and a lot of ways they can hurt you.”
The Ravens don’t have any single receiver who’s having a huge season, but they’re very balanced. Zay Flowers is on pace for over 1,100 yards and nearly 14 yards per catch, tight end Mark Andrews is on pace for 600 yards and eight TDs and Rashod Bateman is on pace for over 800 yards and his 16.4 per-catch average is 3rd-highest in the league. Nelson Agholor – now in his 10th NFL season – has 13 catches for 205 yards and two TDs for the Ravens.
But the key to everything is Jackson, a big-play machine both as a passer and a runner. His 41 completions of at least 20 yards are second to Sam Darnold’s 43 and he’s got four 20-yard runs as well, more than half the starting running backs.
“You can hand it off to a great running back or keep it yourself and get on the edge or run some powers, too,” Fangio said. “Anytime the quarterback can run design runs, it adds another level to an offense.”
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