How Vic Fangio's Defenses Have Fared Against Allen and Rodgers
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Expectations are high for the Miami Dolphins in 2023, and one of the reasons is the arrival of highly respected coach Vic Fangio to run the defense.
That Dolphins defense will have to be ready to handle the challenge of facing several top-notch quarterbacks next season, among them Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, but perhaps most importantly Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers.
The Dolphins will see those last two twice, of course, and how Fangio's defense can contain Allen and Rodgers could go a long way toward determining the team's chances against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets and, subsequently, their chances of coming away with the AFC East title for the first time since 2008.
So, of course, it makes sense to see what kind of success Fangio has had against both of those quarterbacks in his capacity as a defensive coordinator or during his three seasons as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
FANGIO'S DEFENSES AGAINST AARON RODGERS
Since Rodgers began his Hall of Famer career as a first-round pick in 2005, Fangio has gone against him 10 times in the regular season — twice when he was defensive coordinator for the 49ers, seven times as DC of the Chicago Bears, and once as head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2019.
Fangio has a personal 4-6 record against Rodgers, whose career numbers against Fangio defense include 229 completions in 361 attempts for 2,579 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions for a passer rating of 98.6 — a little lower than his overall career rating of 103.6. Rodgers also was sacked 22 times.
Rodgers reached 100 in passer rating in five of those 10 games, topped by a 140.5 in a 31-23 Green Bay Packers victory against the Bears in 2015. In the rematch in that 2015, Rodgers had a 62.4 passer rating, his lowest mark against a Fangio defense.
Rodgers threw three or more touchdown passes in five of his 10 games against Fangio (as DC or head coach) but never threw more than one interception.
RODGERS' STATS VS. FANGIO
2012 — GB vs. SF, 30-22 SF win, 30-for-44, 303 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks, 93.3 passer rating
2013 — GB vs. SF, 38-24 SF win, 21-for-37, 333 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 102 rating
2015 — GB vs. CHI, 31-23 GB win, 18-for-23, 189 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks, 140.5 rating
2015 — GB vs. CHI, 17-13 CHI win, 22-for-43, 202 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 62.4 rating
2016 — GB vs. CHI, 26-10 GB win, 39-for-56, 326 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 102.2 rating
2016 — GB vs. CHI, 30-27 GB win, 19-for-31, 252 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 4 sacks, 87.0 rating
2017 — GB vs. CHI, 35-14 GB win, 18-for-26, 179 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 128.0 rating
2018 — GB vs. CHI, 24-23 GB win, 20-for-30, 286 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 130.7 rating
2018 — GB vs. CHI, 24-17 CHI win, 25-for-42, 274 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 5 sacks, 68.9 rating
2019 — GB vs. DEN, 27-16 GB win, 17-for-29, 235 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks, 96.2 rating
FANGIO'S DEFENSES AGAINST JOSH ALLEN
Fangio's history with Allen obviously is much shorter since Allen has only been in the NFL since 2018.
The two have gone head-to-head three times over the years, though Allen did not play when the Buffalo Bills faced Fangio's Bears in 2018.
Allen's two games against Fangio defenses came when Fangio was head coach of the Broncos, and the quarterback did pretty well in both.
In 2019, Allen was 15-for-25 for 185 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception for a passer rating of 92.9 in Buffalo's 20-3 victory. Allen also rushed nine times for 56 yards.
The following year, which was Allen's best in the NFL so far, Allen was 28-for-40 for 359 yards with two touchdowns, no picks and a 138.7 passer rating in a 48-19 Buffalo victory. Allen also rushed for 33 yards and two touchdowns.
So for those two games, Allen has four touchdown passes, one pick and a 106.2 passer rating.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Fangio's defenses through the years have featured a lot of high-end talent, and he's got plenty of that with the Dolphins as well, with Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey, Bradley Chubb, Jevon Holland, Christian Wilkins and Jaelan Phillips, just to name six impact players.
And Fangio will need those guys to perform at peak efficiency because containing Rodgers and Allen never has been easy — even for the best of defensive minds.
