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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…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/no-1-defense-prepares-no-200304614.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-11-27 20:03:00
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