• QB Dru Brown returns and leads Ottawa to seventh victory: Brown led all offensive players this week with an 86.1 overall grade. 

• Hamilton WR Tim White has a big day catching the football: He led the league with five explosive receptions. White’s ridiculous 4.79 yards per route run average led the league by almost two full yards. 

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Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Week 12 in the CFL saw some fantastic games, as all four were decided by a single score. The East Division went 3-1 against the West this week, showcasing their strength as a whole, as the top three records in the CFL now belong to East teams. So it’s no surprise that 18 of the 27 players on this week's “Team of the Week” belong to East Division teams

The Ottawa Redblacks lead the way with six different players selected, including starting QB Dru Brown. The Edmonton Elks actually ranks second, with five despite losing to the Montreal Alouettes 21-17. The slumping British Columbia Lions had just one player make the team this week, as did the Winnipeg Blue Bombers despite coming away with a win. 

Team of the week

OFFENSE

QB: Dru Brown, Ottawa
RB: Brady Oliveira, Winnipeg
Outside WR: Nick Mardner, Ottawa
Slot WR: Tim White, Hamilton
Slot WR: Justin Hardy, Ottawa
Slot WR: Justin McInnis, B.C.
Outside WR: Charleston Rambo, Montreal
LT: Martez Ivey, Edmonton
LG: Brandon Revenberg, Hamilton
C: Justin Lawrence, Montreal
RG: Shane Richards, Edmonton
RT: Zack Pelehos, Ottawa

DEFENSE

DI: Ralph Holley, Toronto
DI: Michael Wakefield, Ottawa
Edge: Bryan Cox Jr., Saskatchewan
Edge: Brandon Barlow, Hamilton
LB: Frankie Griffin, Ottawa
LB: Tyrice Beverette, Montreal
Cover LB: Leon O’Neal Jr., Edmonton
CB: Benjie Franklin, Toronto
CB: Kabion Ento, Montreal
HB: Richard Leonard, Hamilton
HB: DaMarcus Fields, Saskatchewan
S: Royce Metchie, Toronto

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: Lirim Hajrullahu, Toronto
P: Jake Julien, Edmonton
Returner: Gavin Cobb, Edmonton

Player awards

QUARTERBACK OF THE WEEK: QB DRU BROWN, OTTAWA

Despite a Week 11 win led by backup QB Jeremiah Masoli, Ottawa did not hesitate in naming Brown the starter last week in his return from injury. It paid off in a big way as Brown threw for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns. Brown wasn’t perfect by any means, with three turnover-worthy plays. Nevertheless, he more than made up for it with three big-time throws and a 79.5% adjusted completion rate. Brown led all offensive players this week with an 86.1 overall grade. 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WR TIM WHITE, HAMILTON

It hasn’t been a season to remember for Hamilton or Tim White. Before this past week, the star receiver had broken 70 yards receiving just once in 10 games. Now make that twice. Week 12 was a return to the White of old. He caught seven passes for 134 yards and five first downs. He caught both of the contested targets he saw. He led the league with five explosive receptions. White’s ridiculous 4.79 yards per route run average led the league by almost two full yards. 

OFFENSIVE LINE OF THE WEEK: EDMONTON ELKS

Despite losing the game, it was an impressive performance for an Elks team that is right back in the playoff race. The offensive line opened some big holes for Elks’ running backs to hit, leading to a league-high 62 yards before contact gained. When pass blocking, they allowed just one sack and six total pressures on 37 dropbacks. They were led by tackles Brett Boyko and Martez Ivey, neither of whom allowed a single pressure. Ivey, in particular, has been impressive and is the second-highest-graded offensive lineman in the CFL this year at 74.9 overall. 

PASS-RUSHER OF THE WEEK: DI RALPH HOLLEY, TORONTO

After being named the “Run Defender of the Week” in his past two games, Holley switched things up this week. Holley finished with a hit, three hurries and perhaps the most important play of the game. He sacked QB Trevor Harris on Saskatchewan’s one-inch line with less than a minute left in a tie game, which ultimately led to Saskatchewan punting and giving Toronto an easy game-winning field goal. Holley had a 20% pass rush win rate in this game, increasing his season-long percentage to 14.8%, tied for seventh-best in the league. 

RUN DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: LB RYDER VARGA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

While BC’s pass defense was a real struggle this weekend, their run defense was actually fantastic. They held Ottawa to just 61 yards on 21 carries and forced a fumble. Varga was the leader of that run-stopping attack. He finished with three run tackles and two stops. He didn’t have a single negatively-graded play in 22 run defense snaps. His 82.7 run-defense grade led the league this week. Varga has been getting more and more play time recently and games like this should keep that going. 

COVERAGE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: HB RICHARD LEONARD, HAMILTON

Leonard was one of the top coverage defenders in the CFL last season. This season hasn’t seen quite that level of success, but he’s still been very good. On Saturday night though, he was fantastic. Leonard played 47 coverage snaps and was targeted just twice. Those targets? An incomplete pass where he had the receiver blanketed, and an interception. His strong play helped shut down the Winnipeg passing offense for most of the game. While his grade isn’t quite as good as last season, Leonard still leads the CFL in 2024 with an average of 0.48 yards per coverage snap allowed.