By R.L. Bynum
PITTSBURGH — On the strength of tight end Shamar Easter’s 75-yard game-winning touchdown reception, he finished with a team-high 92.1 Pro Football Focus offensive grade for his nine snaps in a challenging game for UNC’s defense that was on the field for 86 snaps.
Belichick said the tight end’s size and speed make him a difficult matchup.
“He’s big and fast, and he’s a good target down the seam,” Belichick said. “It’s hard to overthrow him, and he can run.”
On defense, cornerback Tre Miller, who got hurt in the third quarter and was carted off the field, led the way with an 89.4 grade, including a 91.0 in coverage, as North Carolina beat No. 25 Pittsburgh 21–17 on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Receiver Jordan Shipp was the next-highest graded Tar Heel at 74.0 (76.6 as a pass catcher) after playing 49 of the team’s 52 offensive snaps.
Tight end Jelani Thurman, who caught the seven-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, played all 52 snaps and graded at 65.9. Tight end Carson Sneed (64.9, 18 snaps), running back Demon June (61.7, 17 snaps) and receivers C.J. Sadler (60.7, 29 snaps) and wide receiver Trech Kekahuna (60.1, 27 snaps) rounded out the group above 60.
Of UNC’s 52 offensive plays, 31 were passes and 21 were runs.
The same five offensive linemen played every snap, and two of them stood out in pass protection as they played without Jordan Hall.
Shaq McRoy graded at 80.8 and Cristian Alvarez at 80.2, with center Christo Kelly at 71.2. Right tackle Andrew Threatt had the best run-blocking grade at 74.7.
The ground game still struggled, with 25 carries producing 20 yards. Benjamin Hall had 12 carries for 25 yards, and Demon June had six carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. graded 55.9 overall, but the numbers suggest a more productive day than that implies.
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He completed 18 of 26 passes (69.2%) for 249 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and his adjusted completion percentage was 79.2. He was pressured on 15 of his 30 dropbacks, was sacked three times and averaged 2.85 seconds to throw. Eight of his completions went for first downs.
The deep ball drove the yardage. Edwards completed two of three passes beyond 20 yards for 124 yards, 49 on the throw to Shipp between the numbers and 75 on the touchdown to Shamar Easter on the right side. His other deep attempt was intercepted.
By area of the field, 123 of his 249 yards came between the numbers (12 of 16), 99 came outside to the right (3 of 4) and 27 came outside to the left (3 of 4). He went 9 of 11 for 65 yards on throws in the 0–9 yard range and 4 of 5 for 31 yards on throws at or behind the line of scrimmage.
Edwards said he expected Pitt’s defenders to be physical with his receivers, so he focused on giving them chances.
“They were going to be aggressive. They were going to grab, right? We’re not going to get clean releases on deep balls, so really just trying to give my guys chances,” he said.
Miller’s big grade came with four targets against him, one catch allowed, and two yards surrendered. He also had an interception and two pass breakups in 53 snaps.
Linebacker Timir Hickman-Collins graded at 82.1 in only 13 snaps and recorded a sack. Linebacker Jonathan Agumadu (76.0, 26 snaps), cornerback Jaiden Patterson (73.5) and end Leroy Jackson (70.4) also finished above 70. Patterson and safety Peyton Waters each played all 86 defensive snaps, and safety Greg Smith played 84.
Smith had the other interception, plus seven tackles and an 85.0 tackling grade. Middle linebacker Derek McDonald made 12 tackles and an 85.7 tackling grade, and linebacker Peyton Seelmann added eight tackles and an 81.3 tackling grade.
Pitt completed 27 of 41 passes for 219 yards and did not throw a touchdown pass. The Panthers did find room against cornerback Kenton Dopson III (graded 39.0 in 20 snaps), who gave up five catches on six targets for 76 yards.
The pass rush finished with 16 total pressures, including three sacks (one each by Hickman-Collins, Xavier Lewis and Donovan Hoilette Jr.) and 12 hurries.
Lewis played 73 snaps, with a career-high 12 tackles, a sack and three hurries. He credited the secondary for helping the front.
“Secondary did a great job,” Lewis said. “We, as a front, have to create even more pressure. I feel like we didn’t create enough today. They helped us out a lot because they were covering so great, and we just got to help them out even more.”
Belichick said the defense’s late work reflected how it handled a long day.
“Great effort by all those guys,” he said. “They played hard. They tackled better in the second half, and they got a little pressure on the quarterback, forced a couple bad throws.”
Snap counts
Offense
| Starters | Pos. | Snaps (special teams) | Offensive rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cristian Alvarez | RG | 52 (3) | 59.4 |
| Shaq McRoy | LT | 52 (3) | 54.2 |
| Aiden Banfield | LG | 52 (3) | 61.2 |
| Andrew Threatt | RT | 52 (3) | 61.9 |
| Jelani Thurman | TE | 52 | 65.9 |
| Billy Edwards Jr. | QB | 52 | 55.9 |
| Christo Kelly | C | 52 (3) | 57.6 |
| Jordan Shipp | WR | 49 | 74.0 |
| Benjamin Hall | HB | 32 (4) | 74.0 |
| C.J. Sadler | WR | 29 | 60.7 |
| Trech Kekahuna | WR | 27 (7) | 60.1 |
| Reserves | Pos. | Snaps | Offensive rating |
| Mason Humphrey | WR | 19 (4) | 54.3 |
| Carson Sneed | TE | 18 (2) | 64.9 |
| Demon June | HB | 17 (4) | 61.7 |
| Shamar Easter | TE | 9 (7) | 92.1 |
| Jaylen McGill | HB | 8 | 42.6 |
Defense
| Starters | Pos. | Snaps (special teams) | Defensive rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peyton Waters | FS | 86 (3) | 66.2 |
| Jaiden Patterson | RCB | 86 (11) | 73.5 |
| Greg Smith | FS | 84 (1) | 63.8 |
| Xavier Lewis | LT | 73 (5) | 64.0 |
| Melkart Abou Jaoude | RE | 72 | 55.3 |
| Derek McDonald | MLB | 71 (13) | 58.4 |
| Payton Seelmann | WLB | 61 (13) | 62.0 |
| Tre Miller | RCB | 53 (2) | 89.4 |
| Leroy Jackson | RE | 51 (4) | 70.4 |
| Calvin Thomas | ROLB | 37 (19) | 48.6 |
| Kaleb Cost | SCB | 8 (2) | 68.5 |
| Reserves | Pos. | Snaps | Defensive rating |
| Ade Willie | SCB | 60 | 69.4 |
| Donovan Hoilette Jr. | DLE | 55 (3) | 56.3 |
| Nicco Maggio | NT | 42 | 69.8 |
| Jonathan Agumadu | WLB | 26 (11) | 76.0 |
| Jalon Thompson | RCB | 21 (5) | 62.9 |
| Kenton Dopson III | LCB | 20 | 39.0 |
| Timir Hickman-Collins | WLB | 13 (14) | 82.1 |
| Emmanuel Nwaiwu | LE | 9 | 51.2 |
| Trey Giddens | RT | 8 (1) | 59.5 |
| Javion Butts | FS | 3 | 60.5 |
| Kristian Dunbar-Hawkins | CB | 3 | 64.0 |
| David Jackson III | RCB | 2 (4) | 70.5 |
| Coleman Bryson | FS | 2 (19) | 60.3 |
Exclusively special teams
| Player | Pos. | Snaps |
|---|---|---|
| Jaden Jefferson | 18 | |
| DQ Forkpa | 18 | |
| Jaziel Hart | 13 | |
| Aeron Burrell | K | 10 |
| Gannon Burt | LS | 9 |
| Ade Willie | 6 | |
| Gannon Burt | LS | 7 |
| Nathan Leacock | 4 | |
| Eidan Buchanan | 3 | |
| Byron Nelson | 3 | |
| Jacob Horvath | 3 | |
| Rece Verhoff | K | 3 |
| Nathan Leacock | 4 | |
| Kaleb Jackson | 4 | |
| Shamar Easter | 4 | |
| Timir Hickman-Collins | 4 |
Photo courtesy of UNC-Chapel Hill
