CFL Week 11: PFF Team of the Week, Player Awards

Lions QB Nathan Rourke impresses in Week 11: Rourke finished with four big-time throws and a league-high 93.5 overall grade.

Impressive day for Edmonton’s Justin Rankin: The star running back finished with an impressive 179 all-purpose yards on 18 touches, earning an excellent 87.3 overall grade.

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We’re now past the halfway point of the CFL season, and it’s becoming clear which teams are pulling away and which are falling behind. As always, we’ve seen some standout individual performances, and we’re here to recognize the best from the past week in this edition of the CFL Team of the Week.

The British Columbia Lions led the way with seven selections, while the Edmonton Elks followed closely with five. On the other end of the spectrum, the last-place Toronto Argonauts had just one player make the team.

OFFENSE

QB: Nathan Rourke, British Columbia
RB: Justin Rankin, Edmonton
Receiver: Keon Hatcher, British Columbia
Receiver: KeeSean Johnson, Saskatchewan
Receiver: Nic Demski, Winnipeg
Receiver: Tyler Snead, Montreal
Receiver: Steven Dunbar Jr., Edmonton
LT: Jarell Broxton, British Columbia
LG: Nathaniel Domoulin-Duguay, Hamilton
C: Peter Nicastro, Toronto
RG: Ilm Manning, British Columbia
RT: Jermarcus Hardrick, Saskatchewan

DEFENSE

DI: Jonah Tavai, British Columbia
DI: Jake Ceresna, Edmonton
Edge: Brandon Barlow, Edmonton
Edge: Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, Montreal
LB: Micah Awe, British Columbia
LB: Tyrice Beverette, Montreal
Cover LB: C.J. Reavis, Saskatchewan
CB: Garry Peters, British Columbia
CB: Tyrell Ford, Edmonton
HB: Evan Holm, Winnipeg
HB: Destin Talbert, Hamilton
S: Nelson Lokombo, Saskatchewan

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Sergio Castillo, Winnipeg
P: Jamieson Sheahan, Winnipeg
Returner: Kalil Pimpleton, Ottawa

QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB NATHAN ROURKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched the games this past weekend. The Lions rolled past the Montreal Alouettes 36-18 behind a stellar performance from Nathan Rourke, who threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns. He led the league with four big-time throws to just one turnover-worthy play and topped all quarterbacks in the percentage of passing yards coming through the air (73.0%). Rourke also added 31 rushing yards on two scrambles and earned the highest grade of the week at 93.5 overall.

Rourke now ranks second among all quarterbacks in PFF grade (90.6), fueled by a league-best 19 big-time throws and an 88.9 rushing grade.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RB JUSTIN RANKIN, EDMONTON

The Elks' matchup with the Toronto Argonauts wasn’t technically a must-win, but it was a game they couldn’t afford to lose—and Kevin Rankin delivered. He put the team on his back in a crucial victory, leading the league with an 82.1 rushing grade. Rankin carried the ball 13 times for 92 yards, forced three missed tackles and gained 57 yards after contact. He also led all players in receiving grade (90.1), catching all five of his targets for 87 yards and forcing two more missed tackles after the catch.

His all-around dominance resulted in an 87.3 overall grade, third among all offensive players for the week.

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

This was a tough call, as no offensive line stood out with a dominant performance last week. But the Winnipeg Blue Bombers earn the nod after a quietly solid showing despite not placing a single player on the Team of the Week. While the unit didn’t make much of a mark in the run game, it excelled in pass protection. On 37 dropbacks, the Bombers allowed zero sacks, two hits and just four hurries. Their 97.3% pass-block win rate and 74.1 pass-blocking grade both led the league for the week. Right tackle Kendall Randolph stood out, surrendering no pressures and recording just one pass-block loss.

PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: ED BRANDON BARLOW, EDMONTON

The Edmonton Elks’ defensive line dominated the Toronto Argonauts, generating a staggering 34 total pressures along with seven additional pass-rush wins. Leading the charge was Barlow, who posted a league-high 12 total pressures. He swept the board statistically, topping the league in pass-rush win rate (34.3%), pressure percentage (34.3%), pass-rush productivity (18.6) and pass-rush grade (86.0). Entering the week, Barlow had 39 pass-rush wins but only 13 total pressures, so the Elks have to be pleased he finally converted those wins into production at an elite rate.

RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB DARNELL SANKEY, MONTREAL

Montreal’s run defense wasn’t particularly impactful this week, surrendering 81 yards on 16 carries to B.C. running back James Butler. But linebacker Darnell Sankey did everything he could to keep the damage in check. Sankey led the league with nine solo tackles against the run, including a week-high five solo stops. He didn’t register a single negatively graded play on 19 run-defense snaps, finishing with a league-best 89.5 run-defense grade.

COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CB GARRY PETERS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

It hasn’t been the lockdown season of years past for Peters, who’s already been targeted nearly as often this year (38) as he was all of last season (42) and has allowed more yards (326 vs. 297). But this week, he looked more like his old self. He was targeted eight times and allowed five catches, but he surrendered just 18 yards and only one first down. He also broke up two passes and recorded six tackles in coverage, including three solo stops.

His 80.4 coverage grade marked just the third time this season he’s cleared the 80.0 threshold. The Lions have to be hopeful this signals a return to form for the All-Star cornerback.