Eagles’ Vic Fangio is 0-8 vs. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Published 2:43 pm Thursday, February 6, 2025

The career of Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio might have taken another path with a different result on one play against the Chiefs.

In 2021, Fangio was in his third year as the Denver Broncos head coach. Entering the season finale at home against the Chiefs, Denver was assured of a third straight losing season. But a victory over the AFC rival coming off two straight Super Bowl appearances would have strengthened his case to stay.

With less than eight minutes remaining and leading 21-20, the Broncos reached the Chiefs’ 9, where running back Melvin Gordon took a handoff from Drew Lock. Chiefs defensive end Melvin Ingram crashed into Gordon, forcing a fumble that Nick Bolton recovered and rumbled 84 yards for a touchdown.

“We’re going to score, and I told everyone we were going for two to make it a nine-point game,” Fangio said.

Instead, the Chiefs held on for a 28-24 triumph and Fangio was fired after the season. Now the Eagles defensive leader, his task remains the same as that day: Stop Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, this time in Super Bowl LIX (5:30 p.m. Sunday, TV: FOX, Radio: The Team 92.1-FM, Tyler-Longview).

If that happens, it will be a first for Fangio. In eight games as a head coach and defensive coordinator, he’s yet to beat a Mahomes-led Chiefs team. That doesn’t include Super Bowl LVII, when he served as a consultant for the Eagles in a losing effort to Kansas City.

Fangio doesn’t need to be reminded about the record. It was brought up often at Super Bowl Opening Night.

“If we win, I’ll be 1-8,” Fangio said. “I’d still hear it.”

But in that case he could respond with a smile. His Broncos teams went 0-6 against the Chiefs, and the first one may have been the most memorable for Kansas City fans. That was the game in 2019, when Mahomes, on a quarterback sneak, dislocated his kneecap and missed his next two starts.

The run of victories over Denver also included the second-lowest passer rating game of Mahomes’ career (57.3) in a 2021 contest. With Fangio’s teams, defense wasn’t usually the issue. The Broncos averaged fewer than 17 points per game against the Chiefs and Mahomes, and the trend continued when he became the defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins in 2023.

The Chiefs beat Miami 21-14 in Frankfurt, Germany, then defeated the Dolphins again in the AFC Divisional Round on their way to a second straight Super Bowl title.

Add it up, and in eight games against Mahomes, Fangio’s teams have averaged about 12 points per game, not the kind of total that will get it done against the three-time Super Bowl MVP.

But Fangio also hasn’t overseen a defense this good when confronting a Mahomes team. None of his defenses with the Broncos or Dolphins were ranked higher than 13th in the NFL in DVOA (Defense-adjusted value over average). The Eagles are ranked first.

The Chiefs have won 17 of 19 games, including the playoffs, and most starters including Mahomes sat for one of the losses. So they’ll have a good record in any opponent breakdown. Still, Mahomes played well against many of the better-rated defenses, teams like the Ravens, Texans and Steelers.

“The thing that’s underrated about him and not talked about enough is his pre-snap intelligence,” Fangio said. “His ability to process what’s happening before … the snap is rare and I think that’s his special talent.

“He makes you play your best.”