This season has been nothing short of magical, and the Eagles have a chance to close the book with a perfect ending next Sunday night when they meet the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. There are plenty of factors that have contributed to the team’s success this year, whether it’s the very effective and efficient play of Jalen Hurts, the emergence of rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, or the historical season of  Saquon Barkley. But, there is one person who may deserve the most credit for the team’s path to the Super Bowl and that is defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio.

When the Eagles went into the bye week, they sat at 2-2. On the surface, the sky wasn’t falling and the team had looked ok at times. They were a dropped pass away from being 3-1, but in the previous game before the break, the Eagles were shredded by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sweltering heat. The Bucs put up 33 points and Baker Mayfield slinged the ball around for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Something had to change if this Eagles team was going to make a run. And it did.

During the bye week, Cooper DeJean was slotted into the starting role. They decided to cut ties with free agent signing Devin White, which allowed for Zach Baun to completely take over the starting linebacker role. This was going to be a different look for a defense that was trying to find an identity. And boy, did they.

The leash was lengthened for players like Nakobe Dean, who was given more opportunities to play in his comfort level. Snaps were taken away from big free agent signing Bryce Huff, and turned over to Nolan Smith. The results quickly came.

The Eagles sacked DeShawn Watson 5 times in the first game against the Browns following the bye week. The next game, the Eagles held the Giants to 3 points , and Daniel Jones only had 99 passing yards for the game. The Bengals hosted the Eagles with their high flying offense and were left scratching their heads in 37-17 beat down. The defense was starting to feel their oats and were solidifying their status as a stout secondary. But there were stiffer tests coming with the hot Commanders, the revived Rams, as well as Baltimore, Pittsburgh on the docket. The Eagles triumphed in each of those weeks, and had now put the league on notice. More importantly, the players bought into Fangio’s system.

With Darius Slay doing his job on one side, and Quinyon Mitchell shutting down the opposite side, teams tried to attack the middle of the field. The issue was, Cooper DeJean would often cover the slot as Dean and Baun would cause confusion inside. So that became a difficult task for offenses. The pass rush continued to emerge, despite the loss of veteran Brandon Graham due to a torn tricep. The outside edge rushers found themselves getting free thanks to the outstanding play of Jalen Carter demanding double teams.

The final result during the regular season was a number one ranked defense. The first time the Eagles held that title since the 1991 season.

When Vic Fangio joined the Eagles, there were rumblings from players of his former team, The Miami Dolphins that Fangio was too hard on the players, and wouldn’t listen to them. He was deemed too old school for the game, and Dolphins players were happy to see him leave. This gave some Eagles fans some reason to question the decision to bring him on board. We should send the Dolphins a giant thank you card.

Obviously a ton of credit goes to Howie Roseman for pulling the right strings on the draft picks. Also, for coach Nick Sirianni on everything that he has done to prepare this team week in and week out despite having a bullseye on his back last season and the early part of this year. But they installed a trust in Fangio to make the defense his own.

It probably was not an easy decision to cut ties with someone like Devin White without knowing what the team had at linebacker, but clearly, Fangio saw something in Baun and Dean enough to make it feasible. The defense was like playing with a new toy to try to figure out how it worked the best. For him to allow his rookies to slide in and take on big roles was a risk that could have easily backfired. Thankfully for the Eagles, it was exactly the opposite. It helped propel the defense into elite status.

In the playoffs, the Eagles faced three very good offenses, and they passed those tests. At times they bent, but would get bailed out by a big play by someone like Jalen Carter or force a huge turnover – something they’ve done 10 times during the postseason. Vic’s defense has held its own.

Now, they need to do it one more time.

The last step before raising a Lombardi is not going to be an easy one. Patrick Mahomes does crazy things, his coach Andy Reid will have his chess pieces lined up as well. But if Fangio can finally figure out a way to slow down Mahomes, and somehow make Travis Kelce a limiting factor, the Eagles should win this game.

In the last Super Bowl matchup between these teams, it was a shootout. Even though they will be playing on an artificial turf field this time around, which usually results in faster offensive play, many expect this to be a lower scoring contest. It very well could come down to a big defensive stop late in the fourth quarter to seal it.

Let’s just hope Vic Fangio has just a bit more magic in his bag.