Vic Fangio

Q. Vic, when you look at that fourth quarter when you watch the film, what stood out as far as breakdowns and what went wrong? (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, we just missed on a few plays where our coverage pickup was a little off. Our run fit was off and we had the penalty. Basically, that was it.

Q. You ended up spending a lot of time on the field, a lot of snaps, a lot of minutes out there. How much did that factor into the fourth quarter? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: I don’t think it did. You couldn’t tell the difference with the way our guys were playing? Intensity and speed, no problem.

Q. What went into the decision to start Eagles CB Kelee Ringo? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: It was a combination that he had played good enough the previous week. [Eagles CB] Adoree [Jackson] was just coming off his injury. So it was a combination of both.

Q. Are you sticking with Ringo as the starter? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Possibly.

Q. It looked like Broncos WR Courtland Sutton got hot in the fourth quarter. When you have a big receiver like that, some of the back shoulder stuff, are there teaching points to that or is that just if it’s a good throw, that’s really tough. (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, it’s a tough one to defend, especially with a guy his size. I thought we were tight, just weren’t – they made it and we didn’t.

Q. What can a young defense learn about what took place in that final quarter? (Ed Kracz)

Vic Fangio: No matter the circumstances, you got to be able to go out and execute. I got to be able to go out and give them good calls and put out the fire.

Q. Eagles OLB Azeez Ojulari had a pretty big workload in his first game. What sort of impression did he make? (Jeff Neiburg)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, he made some nice plays out there for a guy that hadn’t played at all in the regular season. So that was encouraging.

Q. Was that the plan to play him that much or was that something because he played well? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I think it was kind of both, but when he was going, when he made a couple plays, keep him in there.

Q. At this time last week, you were still waiting to see how Eagles LB Nakobe Dean looked. Now that you’ve had a week seeing him, how do you think he factors in when he gets out there? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: There’s a chance he could be active this week. Not positive yet.

Q. And what type of role do you anticipate for him? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: Oh, it would just be – because he hadn’t had any [2025] game [experience], no training camp – it wouldn’t be a full-time role yet.

Q. As far as Eagles CB Kelee Ringo, you said he could possibly start again. What does he have to do to turn ‘possibly’ into, ‘yeah, he’s a starter?’ (Ed Kracz)

Vic Fangio: At this point, nothing. We have to make a decision between those two and I think Kelee’s done well. I mean, at the minimum, they could both play.

Q. We saw Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell have one of his better games against Tampba Bay and then a good first half on Sunday against Denver. What happened in the second half and also in following Broncos WR Courtland Sutton around the field? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, they just, like we had said earlier, he was on him highly contested. They made the play. We didn’t.

Q. Do you think it’s not asking too much of him to constantly follow the top guy? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: I don’t think so. I don’t think so.

Q. You said no full-time job for Eagles LB Nakobe Dean quite yet, but obviously with Eagles LBs Jihaad Campbell and Zack Baun playing at a pretty high level, how can you make that work with the three of them? (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: We’ll figure it out.

Q. What have you seen from Giants QB Jaxson Dart? (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: I like him. Another mobile quarterback. I think he’s got that air about him to be a quarterback. I think he’s confident in his abilities and in their offense. Got the gun run game to contend with. They’ll run quarterback draws, quarterback designed runs. He’s good. I think they got themselves a quarterback.

Q. How do you prepare for a quarterback that doesn’t have a lot of NFL film? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Use the tape that is available. Obviously, he’s played the last two games [and] played in the preseason.

Q. When you have a play like Eagles LB Zack Baun’s that gets penalized, what do you tell him on that? Is he doing what you want him to do? (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: It was probably a little late and since it was up near the head or neck area, that sealed it for the [official] to throw [the flag], but it was ‘bang-bang’ in my opinion. I’ve seen those called and not called.

Q. Now that you’ve seen Eagles OLB Za’Darius Smith for a few games, what does he add? Not only from a skillset standpoint, but from that experience standpoint? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, obviously the game’s not too big for him. He’s been out there a lot in his career. [He] made a critical sack last week, which pushed [Denver] out of field goal range. I think he’s getting better and better every week.

Q. Circling back to Eagles OLB Azeez Ojulari, what do you think took him so long to crack the rotation or get the opportunity? How do you see it going forward? Have you seen a lot of progress in between the start of the season and now? (Cayden Steele)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, when you’re dressing four or five outside [line]backers slash edge players, special teams plays a major part in who’s four and who’s five. When [Eagles OLB] Nolan [Smith] went down, that gave him an opportunity. When [Eagles OLB] Ogbo [Okoronkwo] went down, that gave him an opportunity.

Q. How do you look at the fact you’ve only gotten a sack and a half from your edge rushers, and obviously that’s all from Eagles OLB Za’Darius Smith. Are you not seeing production from the other guys? (Martin Frank)

Vic Fangio: Obviously, the production or the sack numbers are what [they are]. I do think the ball is coming out fairly quick a lot. I think the sack numbers, when you eliminate the big games that some teams have, are down overall in the last few years. The guys have been rushing good enough. We just haven’t gotten there.

Q. Why do you think the sack numbers are down across the league? (EJ Smith)

Vic Fangio: I think [teams] throw it quicker. A lot of the passes can be boots, screens, RPO, quick game. They just seem to be down and I think teams are more protection conscious, a lot more chipping going on. All of that combined.

Q. We saw Eagles DB Cooper DeJean get to the quarterback on that slot blitz. When you have a player that’s as versatile as him, obviously that’s good, but is there a challenge in terms of how you utilize someone who could do so much when you’re game planning? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: It’s not a challenge. It’s a good thing. He’s playing nickel for us, obviously. He plays corner and base. He could play safety if we needed him to. He’s just a [heck] of a football player [who] I’m glad we have.

Q. In the spring and summer, you kept talking about the role Eagles OLB Jalyx Hunt was growing into this year. How have you seen him develop into that and what strides does he still need to make? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: I thought he played well last week. This past game [was] better than the week before. He still is a young player coming from Cornell slash Houston Christian, not your everyday football factories. He’s getting better, his future’s bright, and he’s getting better.

Q. How did you feel about the reversed intentional grounding call because that really changed the complexion of the game, too. (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: Whatever they call, they call.