How Every Nebraska Defender Graded Out Against Washington on PFF

Another impressive defensive performance by the Big Red was overshadowed in the team's third loss in a row.

Washington's Elijah Brown is sacked by Jahsear Whittington and Vincent Shavers Jr. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nebraska held Washington to just three points for 58½ minutes of Saturday's game and still found a way to lose.

As frustrating as it is, that's the reality, and Nebraska's fan base, Rob Aurich, and the Blackshirts deserve more. Regardless, this isn't a recap of the Washington game or a discussion of what we learned from the loss.

Instead, here are the final snap counts and grades for all 22 Husker defenders who saw action in Nebraska's 17-10 loss, courtesy of Pro Football Focus. (Offensive grades coming soon.)

Player	Class	Snaps	Run Grade	Tackling	Pass Rush	Coverage	Overall
Whittington	3rd	53	65.0	71.9	62.6	59.7	63.0
Nwaneri	3rd	38	70.2	74.9	63.5	60.4	68.1
Pietrzak	2nd	29	65.4	73.2	63.4	61.1	68.3
Lenhardt	4th	29	71.0	34.2	54.1	61.1	63.6
Ochoa	3rd	27	61.2	-	52.0	60.0	54.4
Stoudmire	6th	25	62.7	73.8	61.1	-	63.4
Van Poppel	4th	23	71.6	73.4	62.1	-	70.8
Goldman	4th	21	60.0	71.3	59.5	60.5	48.3
Terry	2nd	7	64.5	78.4	56.8	57.2	59.0
Jones	2nd	6	-	-	54.8	-	54.5
Berymon	1st	3	-	-	-	-	-
Simpson	2nd	3	-	-	-	-	-

Defensive Line

Despite being without starting edge rusher Anthony Jones, who suffered a foot injury against Oregon, NU's defensive line again found ways to disrupt the opposition in Week 9. The Blackshirts limited Washington to just 32 rushing yards on 19 attempts (1.7 yards per carry) and totaled four sacks. Even after adjusting for sacks, UW managed just 56 rushing yards (3.7 yards per attempt).

The stat sheet might not fully reflect it, but Kade Pietrzak played perhaps the best game of his collegiate career. On a season-high 29 snaps, the North Dakota native was credited with three pressures and one of the Big Red's four sacks.

Jahsear Whittington was once again able to get after the opposing QB. He now has 16 tackles, 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery through eight games. Others, including Mason Goldman (1.0 sack) and Riley Van Poppel (0.5 sack), brought down the opposing quarterback as well. Van Poppel saw his first action since the Maryland game, playing 23 snaps.

Player	Class	Snaps	Run Grade	Tackling	Pass Rush	Coverage	Overall
Chambliss	4th	64	76.4	81.0	64.9	56.4	64.3
Shavers	3rd	50	46.8	76.1	79.4	60.7	65.9
Foster	3rd	17	64.8	78.4	56.8	57.2	59.0
Merritt	2nd	7	-	-	64.6	61.7	67.2

Linebackers

Nebraska's linebacker corps saw mixed results, though the unit's overall performance was a net positive against the Huskies on Halloween night. Owen Chambliss, who played 64 defensive snaps, recorded his second-lowest overall grade of the season, while Vincent Shavers arguably turned in his best performance of 2026.

Chambliss was again heavily targeted on passing downs. Against Oregon, the San Diego State transfer was targeted eight times, allowing five receptions for 24 yards. Washington went after him nine times, completing six passes for 43 yards.

Sophomore linebacker Dawson Merritt saw his first action since the Maryland game. To my knowledge, Merritt wasn't dealing with an injury, NU just appeared to trust players like Shavers and Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster more in recent weeks. Speaking of Foster, he played a season-low 17 defensive snaps.

Player	Class	Snaps	Run Grade	Tackling	Pass Rush	Coverage	Overall
D. Jones	3rd	67	71.0	81.7	52.7	70.6	70.6
Benning	3rd	67	68.5	85.7	59.4	77.3	76.8
McDougle	5th	67	69.8	70.1	58.9	66.5	65.0
Marshall	4th	66	64.9	46.5	55.7	61.1	61.4
Evans	4th	61	61.9	81.7	-	75.3	75.4
Odem	1st	7	60.0	74.2	-	72.9	74.1

Defensive Backs

There's no other way to put it: Caleb Benning has been playing his butt off over the past few weeks. After earning an 84.2 overall grade against Oregon in his first collegiate start, he followed it up with a team-high grade of 76.8 against Washington while again filling in for the injured Jamir Conn.

On the flip side, Andrew Marshall, who was named a Midseason All-American by On3 and Sports Illustrated, has struggled over the last two games. The senior was targeted six times against the Ducks, allowing four receptions for 47 yards. On Saturday, he was targeted eight times, allowing four more catches for 50 yards while being flagged for two penalties.

Donovan Jones made several noteworthy plays against Washington's rushing and screen game but struggled in pass coverage. The junior nickel defender allowed seven completions on eight targets for 42 yards.

Washington wide receiver Chris Lawson's 12 receptions were the most by an opposing pass-catcher against Nebraska this fall. He finished with 130 receiving yards and the go-ahead touchdown, putting the Huskies ahead 10-7 with 1:30 remaining in the game.

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