Top PFF grades from No. 3 Texas' 37-31 loss to No. 2 Washington
After the No. 3 Texas Longhorns’ 37-31 loss to No. 2 Washington from the Superdome in New Orleans on Monday night, Inside Texas takes a look at the Pro Football Focus grades on offense and defense after the Longhorns (12-2, 9-1) completed their 2023 season in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
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OFFENSE
QB – Quinn Ewers, 81.2
Ewers started a little slow, but picked up the pace. He finished 24-of-43, 318 yards passing, one touchdown and zero turnovers. He also added 59 yards on the ground in the loss.
RB – Jaydon Blue, 65.3, CJ Baxter, 66.7
The duo of Baxter and Blue were solid versus the Huskies on Monday. Baxter, Blue, and Ewers combined for 177 yards rushing, with Baxter and Blue both hitting pay dirt.
WR – Adonai Mitchell, 59.9, Xavier Worthy, 52.5
Texas’ top two receivers had an average day at the office in the Sugar Bowl. The duo combined for 102 yards on eight catches, with Mitchell catching the only scoring toss late in the fourth quarter.
TE – Ja’Tavion Sanders, 71.6
Sanders was the target on Monday, with 75 yards receiving on six catches for the All Big 12 tight end in potentially his last game as a Longhorn. He finishes his career with 99 receptions.
OL – Jake Majors, 74.1, Kelvin Banks, 68.5, Hayden Conner, 71.1
Offensive linemen Majors (73 snaps), Conner (73 snaps), and Banks (73 snaps) anchored the O-line attack up front. Majors added a 78.1 run-block grade, while Conner tallied a 79.2 pass-block grade.
DEFENSE
DL/EDGE – T’Vondre Sweat, 68.8, Byron Murphy, 79.0, Ethan Burke, 66.3
Sweat (41 snaps) and Murphy (41 snaps) were strong up the middle, but not as disruptive as Washington held the UT interior defenders in check for a good portion of the game. The duo combined six tackles and one tackle for loss. Burke (45 snaps) added six tackles and .5 tackles for loss.
Murphy’s second touchdown of the year was unstoppable.
LB – Jaylan Ford, 52.7, Anthony Hill Jr, 51.9, David Gbenda, 72.3
Ford (64 snaps) was tremendous with a team-high ten tackles. Hill Jr. (59 snaps) tallied four tackles and one tackle for loss as well in another strong performance. Gbenda’s (13 snaps) 73.2 tackling grade led the linebackers.
CB/N – Malik Muhammad, 67.8, Jahdae Barron, 55.7
Muhammad (60 snaps), Barron (68 snaps), Ryan Watts (46 snaps), and the Texas secondary had a difficult time with Michael Penix Jr and the Washington passing attack in the Sugar Bowl.
S – Derek Williams, 64.6, Michael Taaffe, 72.6
The safety duo of Williams (24 snaps) and Taaffe (48 snaps) had to wait until the third quarter when Williams became eligible after serving a suspension for targeting in the Oklahoma State win. Taaffe added five tackles and .5 tackles for loss, while Williams notched three tackles and .5 tackles for loss.
