• Chad Kelly is back throwing passes for Toronto: Kelly’s 90.7 passing grade led the CFL last season while he also posted a 7.7% big-time throw rate (tied for second) and a 3.7% turnover-worthy play rate (third).
• Ageless Willie Jefferson continues to impress: The Bomber legend has the sixth-highest pass-rushing grade while his 39 total pressures rank second in the league.
• Dominate your fantasy draft: Subscribe to PFF+ to get full access to PFF’s full suite of fantasy football tools, including the fantasy mock draft simulator, live draft assistant, fantasy rankings, cheat sheets and more! Click here to subscribe!
Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS VS. TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Week 12 kicks off with a Saskatchewan team looking to keep hold of their West Division lead taking on a Toronto team desperately trying to gain some ground in the race for the East. Saskatchewan saw QB Trevor Harris return last week and put up a 93.7 overall grade. When he’s been healthy, Harris is arguably the CFL's best quarterback. He rarely misses throws and is capable of picking apart any defense. Toronto’s defense has been improving week in and week out but it will certainly have its hands full trying to defend Harris. There’s a big bright spot for the Argonauts this week. Their starting quarterback, last season’s Most Outstanding Player, Chad Kelly, is back. He’s served his suspension and now the question is, how will he look in his return? With minimal practice time, it will be interesting to see how well he can play against a very good Saskatchewan defense.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: RG LOGAN FERLAND, SASKATCHEWAN VS. DI JAKE CERESNA, TORONTO
By all accounts, Ferland has been having a solid season for Saskatchewan’s offensive line. The guard hasn’t allowed a single sack all year, and his 98.6 pass-blocking efficiency score is the highest among right guards. If he still hasn’t allowed a sack after this game, it’ll be one of his most impressive games yet. Ceresna is a beast rushing the passer. His 81.0 pass-rushing grade ranks fifth in the league this year, as does his 15.2% pass-rush win rate. He’s also a very good finisher. Of his 24 total pressures, seven of them have been sacks. He’s tied for the league lead there and will be looking to add to that number with a good performance Thursday night.
PLAYER TO WATCH: QB CHAD KELLY, TORONTO
The moment the Argonauts have been waiting for all season is finally here. Whether Kelly should have ever been allowed to return is a topic of discussion, but from a football standpoint, his return is huge. Toronto has been essentially treading water this season, waiting for him to come back and its their offense back to 2023 levels. Kelly’s 90.7 passing grade led the CFL last season while he also recorded a 7.7% big-time throw rate (tied for second) and a 3.7% turnover-worthy play rate (third). One reason for concern for Toronto would be that Kelly’s last appearance, the East Division semifinals, was the worst game of his career by far. He had a 27.9 passing grade after six turnover-worthy plays and zero big-time throws. Toronto needs regular-season Kelly back. If he can return to that M.O.P. level from last season, Toronto could go on a run this second half of the season.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS VS. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
This has already been a season to forget for Hamilton, who is 2-8 and sitting dead last in the CFL. The Tiger-Cats recently benched starting QB Bo Levi Mitchell for Taylor Powell, only to see Powell injured last week. Mitchell played solid in his return to the field, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Edmonton Elks. Whether he plays or Hamilton goes to third-stringer Harrison Frost, the Tiger-Cats will have a tough time against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' league-leading defense. Winnipeg is getting strong play from veterans like EDGE Willie Jefferson (80.3 pass-rush grade) and LB Kyrie Wilson (73.5 overall grade). However, their real star is their starting corner Tyrell Ford, who is the highest-graded defensive player in the league at 91.2 overall. He’s capable of single-handedly turning the tides of a game, and he should be licking his chops thinking about Hamilton’s questionable quarterback situation.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: RT QUINTON BARROW, HAMILTON VS. ED WILLIE JEFFERSON, WINNIPEG
It’s no secret that Barrow has struggled this season as a pass blocker. While he’s only allowed two sacks, he’s been beaten pretty routinely on his pass-blocking snaps. His pass-blocking win rate is just 81.9%, the lowest mark in the league among starting offensive linemen. All he has to do this week is worry about a future Hall of Famer in Willie Jefferson. The Bomber legend has the sixth-highest pass rushing grade and his 39 total pressures rank second in the league. Jefferson is top 10 in basically every pass-rushing category and once again leads the league in batted passes. Jefferson is putting together another All-Star-caliber season and could be in line for yet another big game this week.
PLAYER TO WATCH: DI DEWAYNE HENDRIX, HAMILTON
Hendrix’s raw stats may not seem overly impressive on paper. He has just two sacks on the season, which ranks 22nd in the league. But Hendrix has an impressive 14.9% pass-rush win rate, the fourth-highest in the league. When he wins, he wins fast, as evidenced by his league-leading 90.0 pass-rushing grade. Hendrix had a good year last year, but he’s been playing on a whole other level this season. Keep an eye on the interior defender, this could be a big game for him.
BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS VS. OTTAWA REDBLACKS
No team has been a bigger surprise this season than Ottawa. The Redblacks have already won six games and the season is only halfway done. Last year, they won just four games! The Redblacks are getting stellar play all across the board. One of the highlights has been first-year RB Ryquell Armstead, who ranks second in the CFL with 26 missed tackles forced. While the Redblacks have been a pleasant surprise, the Lions have been nothing short of disappointing lately. After starting the season 5-1, the Lions have lost four straight and are in a free fall. Their savior, QB Nathan Rourke, had a brutal return to the CFL, recording the lowest passing grade of the week last week at 32.4. The good news for BC is that it almost certainly has nowhere to go but up. With Vernon Adams Jr. still out with an injury, they’ll have to continue to put their faith in Rourke and hope he can return to his elite 2022 form.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: WR JUSTIN MCINNIS, BRITISH COLUMBIA VS. HB DEANDRE LAMONT, OTTAWA
It’s been a tough few weeks for McInnis. Through seven games, he had caught 48 passes for 780 yards and six touchdowns. He had made 14 contested catches and had 25 explosive receptions. Over the past three games, he’s caught just seven passes for 95 yards and zero touchdowns. He hasn’t made a contested catch and has just one explosive reception. He’ll look to bounce back against Lamont, who has struggled at times this season. While Lamont does have five pass breakups, he’s also allowed 47 receptions, the most in the league. His 67.0 coverage grade ranks 35th in the league. This matchup should be one to watch, to see if McInnis can bounce back to his early season form.
PLAYER TO WATCH: RB WILLIAM STANBACK, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Whether it's Vernon Adams Jr. or Nathan Rourke, all the talk this season has been about the Lions’ quarterback. Lost in all that has been the fact that Stanback is having a very impressive season. The running back has 404 yards after contact, the second-most in the league. His 26 missed tackles forced are also the second-most. Stanback is doing all this despite having the worst offensive line in the CFL. Stanback has also added 27 catches for 236 yards and another missed tackle forced. With the quarterback situation suddenly a bit of a question in BC, a strong performance by Stanback could help get BC get its season back on track.
EDMONTON ELKS VS. MONTREAL ALOUETTES
The hottest team in the CFL right now has to be the Edmonton Elks. They’ve won three straight and have averaged over 40 points per game in those wins. Whether it's Tre Ford or McLeod Bethel-Thompson at quarterback, it hasn’t mattered. The Elks have figured out how to win games and find themselves right back in the playoff race. This will be their toughest test yet, as they face a 9-1 Montreal Alouettes that has been far and away the best team in the league this season. Montreal has one of the best defenses in the CFL, and now its offense will get a boost with the return of Most Outstanding Player award-favourite QB Cody Fajardo. If he returns with a big game, Montreal could douse this impressive Edmonton wildfire.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: WR EUGENE LEWIS, EDMONTON VS. CB NAFEES LYON, MONTREAL
It hasn’t been a season to remember for Lewis, one of the top WRs in football over the past few seasons. The Edmonton pass catcher ranks second with 10 contested catches but has just nine explosive receptions. That’s not even in the top 20 for receivers. But it’s still Geno Lewis. He’s capable of a massive game at any time. It’ll be up to Lyon to keep him in check. The Alouette struggled in his return from injury last week, allowing eight catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. But prior to that, he had allowed just 11 catches for 147 yards over the course of six games. Lyon hasn’t broken up a pass since Week 3, and he’s going to have quite a battle in any contested target situation with Lewis. The winner of those battles just might sway the tide in their team’s favor.
PLAYER TO WATCH: WR AUSTIN MACK, MONTREAL
Montreal has dealt with injuries at the receiver position nonstop this season. The latest is Tyson Philpot, one of the top receivers in the entire league, being placed on the six-game injured list. He joins the shifty Kaion Julien-Grant and the impressive sophomore Tyler Snead. The Alouettes weren’t going to sit around and do nothing about it though, as they quickly brought back last season’s star receiver. Austin Mack was the seventh-highest-graded receiver in the league last year and ranked sixth with a 2.03 yards per route run average.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.