• New home, no problem for RB Ryquell Armstead: The former Ottawa Redblacks starter, cut just a few weeks ago, gained a league-leading 135 yards after contact and forced 10 missed tackles.
• Saskatchewan offensive line bulldozes to victory: Right tackle Trevon Tate had one of the best games of the season by an offensive lineman. He didn’t allow a single pressure and finished with a ridiculous 92.1 run-blocking grade.
• Toronto Edge Folarin Orimolade near-impossible to block: Orimolade recorded three hurries and an additional nine pass-rush wins. His pass-rush win rate of 26.2% was ridiculously high and ranked first in the league this past weekend.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Week 16 saw some fantastic CFL action as multiple teams pushed for their playoff spots down the stretch. The Montreal Alouettes clinched a home playoff game with their win, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a third straight victory. As always, we’ll highlight players who performed well in this week’s Team of the Week.
While Montreal and Hamilton had impressive performances as a team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders led the way in terms of individual performances. They had an incredible 10 players named to this week’s team. The Edmonton Elks, despite their loss, had the second-most at four.
OFFENSE
QB: Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan
RB: Ryquell Armstead, Saskatchewan
Outside WR: KeeSean Johnson, Saskatchewan
Slot WR: Kian Schaffer-Baker, Saskatchewan
Slot WR: Justin Hardy, Ottawa
Slot WR: DaVaris Daniels, Toronto
Outside WR: Ontaria Wilson, Winnipeg
LT: Trevor Reid, Saskatchewan
LG: David Foucault, Edmonton
C: Sean McEwen, Calgary
RG: Nick Jones, Saskatchewan
RT: Trevon Tate, Saskatchewan
DEFENSE
DI: Mustafa Johnson, Montreal
DI: Dewayne Hendrix, Hamilton
Edge: Folarin Orimolade, Toronto
Edge: Celestin Haba, Winnipeg
LB: Jameer Thurman, Saskatchewan
LB: Nick Anderson, Edmonton
Cover LB: Derrick Moncrief, Edmonton
CB: Tarvarus McFadden, Toronto
CB: Deontai Williams, Saskatchewan
HB: Damon Webb, Ottawa
HB: Evan Holm, Winnipeg
S: Alonzo Addae, Ottawa
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Marc Liegghio, Hamilton
P: Jake Julien, Edmonton.
Returner: Mario Alford, Saskatchewan
QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB TREVOR HARRIS, SASKATCHEWAN
While Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell certainly had a game worthy of this award, Harris played a nearly perfect game, helping his Roughriders end their winless streak. Harris finished with two big-time throws, an adjusted completion rate of 88.9% and a league-leading 92.5 PFF overall grade. He missed on just two of his passes over the entire game. With that performance, Harris is now the highest-graded quarterback in the CFL this season, with a 91.5 passing grade.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RB RYQUELL ARMSTEAD, SASKATCHEWAN
It wasn’t just Saskatchewan’s passing game that performed well. The newly-signed Armstead set a record for most rushing yards in a debut game with 207. The former Ottawa Redblacks starter, who was cut just a few weeks ago, gained a league-leading 135 yards after contact and forced 10 missed tackles. Armstead now has 37 missed tackles forced on the season, tied for third-most in the CFL. It’s no surprise that Armstead led all running backs this week with an 86.2 overall grade.
OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
A clean sweep in the offensive award categories for Saskatchewan, as the offensive line dominated all night long in their win. The unit helped open holes for Armstead every time he touched the ball and was a big part of his success. Nothing changed when they dropped back to pass, either. The Riders’ offensive line allowed just two total pressures on 21 dropbacks.
Right tackle Trevon Tate had one of the best games of the season by an offensive lineman — he didn’t allow a single pressure and finished with a ridiculous 92.1 run-blocking grade.
PASS RUSHER OF THE WEEK: ED FOLARIN ORIMOLADE, TORONTO
Orimolade didn’t have a sack or a hit, but his pass-rushing performance exceeded those basic numbers. Orimolade recorded three hurries and an additional nine pass-rush wins. His pass-rush win rate of 26.2% was ridiculously high and led the entire league this past weekend. Orimolade has actually been a victim of this all season. His season-long pass rush win rate of 17.6% ranks second in the league, but his pressure percentage of 7.9% ranks just 22nd.
RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB NICK ANDERSON, EDMONTON
Edmonton could not slow down Winnipeg’s rushing offense as much as it would have liked in their game this past weekend, but Anderson sure tried his best to make it happen. The run-stuffing linebacker had seven total tackles in the run game, including three solo stops. He didn’t grade negatively on a single run-defense play and finished with an 85.5 run-defense grade. Anderson has 54 total run tackles this season and leads the CFL this season with a run-defense grade of 88.1.
COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: LB GEOFFREY CANTIN-ARKU, MONTREAL
It wasn’t a marquee week for coverage performances, as many of the league’s top defensive players put on average performances. But Cantin-Arku had an impressive game from his linebacker position. He was only targeted once as the primary coverage man, and he intercepted that pass. He also broke up another pass from underneath coverage against a seam route. Cantin-Arku finished with a league-leading 81.9 coverage grade on the week.
