• Montreal Alouettes lead with nine selections: Despite the loss, the Alouettes' offensive line earned four of the five available spots on the “Team of the Week,” which enabled the team to pace the league in those nominations this week.
• RB Dedrick Mills earns Offensive Player of the Week honors: Mills rushed for just under 100 yards and a touchdown, and his 88.1 offensive grade was second only to QB Trevor Harris.
• EDGE Jackson Jeffcoat returned to action in a big way: Jeffcoat had been out with an injury since Week 1, but that didn’t slow him down in his return, securing a sack, two hits and four additional hurries in 25 pass-rushing snaps.
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
This week in the CFL saw a lot of great defensive performances and not a lot of offense. There wasn’t a single running back to break 100 rushing yards or a single wide receiver to break 100 receiving yards. However, there were still some standouts. Despite the loss, the Montreal Alouettes led the way with nine players named to the team. The Saskatchewan Roughriders had the biggest performers of the week, with three players highlighted below for their performances.
Team of the Week
Offense
- QB: Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- RB: Dedrick Mills, Calgary Stampeders
- Outside WR: Keon Hatcher, BC Lions
- Slot WR: Richie Sindani, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Slot WR: Mitchell Picton, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Slot WR: Reggie Begelton, Calgary Stampeders
- Outside WR: Austin Mack, Montreal Alouettes
- LT: Nick Callender, Montreal Alouettes
- LG: Drew Desjarlais, Ottawa Redblacks
- C: Justin Lawrence, Montreal Alouettes
- RG: Kristian Matte, Montreal Alouettes
- RT: Landon Rice, Montreal Alouettes
Defense
- DI: Ricky Walker, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- DI: Mike Rose, Calgary Stampeders
- Edge: Jackson Jeffcoat, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Edge: A.C. Leonard, Edmonton Elks
- LB: Avery Williams, Montreal Alouettes
- LB: Tyron Vrede, Ottawa Redblacks
- Cover LB: Chris Edwards, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- CB: Nick Marshall, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- CB: Hakeem Bailey, Ottawa Redblacks
- HB: Dionté Ruffin, Montreal Alouettes
- HB: Richard Leonard, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- S: Marc-Antoine Duequoy, Montreal Alouettes
Special Teams
- K: David Cote, Montreal Alouettes
- P: Cody Grace, Calgary Stampeders
- Returner: Janarion Grant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Players of the Week
Quarterback of the Week: QB Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Despite his overall numbers not looking special, Harris had a fantastic game last week. His 89.1 passing grade led the league, as did his three big-time throws. He was as clutch as could be on the Roughriders' final game-tying drive, making multiple high-level throws as well as picking up a first down on his feet. In what wasn’t a huge week overall for quarterbacks, Harris led the league with an 11.0-yard average depth of target, the only quarterback in the CFL to average in the double digits.
Offensive Player of the Week: RB Dedrick Mills, Calgary Stampeders
This was a week of defensive performances, as there were very few standout offensive players. Mills was the best of them, rushing for just under 100 yards and a touchdown. His 88.1 offensive grade was second only to Harris. Mills gained 56 of his 97 total yards after first contact and forced three missed tackles. Mills has done incredibly well filling in for CFL All-Star RB Ka’Deem Carey and is currently the highest-graded runningback in the league this season
Offensive Line of the Week: Montreal Alouettes
Despite the tough loss, the Alouettes’ offensive line was as good as ever. With four players making the “Team of the Week,” this was a no-brainer. The Alouettes barely ran the football, but when they did, they averaged 2.8 yards before contact, the highest in the league this week. They were even better in pass protection. Despite dropping back 55 times in very obvious passing situations, they allowed just nine total pressures and led the CFL with a pressure percentage of just 16.4%.
Pass-Rusher of the Week: EDGE Jackson Jeffcoat, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Jeffcoat had been out with an injury since Week 1, but that didn’t slow him down in his return. Jeffcoat secured a sack, two hits and four additional hurries in 25 pass rushing snaps. His seven pressures led the league this week and his 16.0 pass-rushing productivity score led the league among defensive linemen. He also batted down two passes for good measure.
Run Defender of the Week: LB Larry Dean, Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Edmonton Elks gained just six first downs and averaged 3.5 yards per carry on 27 rushing attempts, and that was thanks largely in part to Dean’s play. His 90.8 run defense grade led the league by a large margin. He had eight tackles in the run game, with three of them being solo stops. He didn’t miss a tackle and received a positive grade on almost 20% of his plays.
Coverage Player of the Week: CB Nick Marshall, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Another Roughrider makes the list after their big win last Thursday night. Marshall played fantastic in coverage and was a big reason for the victory. He was targeted five times and allowed just two catches for eight yards total. He made two defensive stops and had the game-clinching interception on the final drive, jumping on a poor Taylor Cornelius throw and sealing the victory.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.