CFL Week 8: PFF Team of the Week & Player Awards

Dominant game, dominant team: The Toronto Argonauts are 6-0 and are well-represented here this week, with a league-leading seven players making their way onto the “Team of the Week.”
BC’s Dane Evans, perhaps the league’s best backup QB: Evans was electric in his game, finishing the week with a league-high 90.2 passing grade. He had an 77.8% adjusted completion percentage while leading all starting QBs with a 12.1-yard average depth of target.
Montreal CB Kabion Ento was lockdown in coverage: He had four pass breakups in coverage, twice peeling off his own coverage to go knock the ball away and stop a completion. And that isn’t even counting his pick-six.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Week 8 in the CFL has wrapped up and we still have an unbeaten team and a winless team. The Toronto Argonauts are 6-0 and are well-represented here this week, with a league-leading seven players making their way onto the “Team of the Week.” Meanwhile, the Edmonton Elks lost yet again and are now 0-8 on the year. That’s reflected in their play, as just one Elks player made the team this week. Every other team who played had at least two players make it.

Team of the Week

Offense

QB: Dane Evans, BC Lions
RB: A.J. Ouellette, Toronto Argonauts
Outside WR: Tevin Jones, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Slot WR: Shawn Bane Jr., Saskatchewan Roughriders
Slot WR: Reggie Begelton, Calgary Stampeders
Slot WR: Kaion Julien-Grant, Montreal Alouettes
Outside WR: Dillon Mitchell, Edmonton Elks
LT: Jarell Broxton, BC Lions
LG: Brandon Revenberg, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
C: Darius Ciraco, Toronto Argonauts
RG: Coulter Woodmansey, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
RT: Dejon Allen, Toronto Argonauts

Defense

DI: Woody Baron, BC Lions
DI: Mustafa Johnson, Montreal Alouettes
Edge: Folarin Orimolade, Toronto Argonauts
Edge: Julian Howsare, Calgary Stampeders
LB: Wynton McManis, Toronto Argonauts
LB: Cameron Judge, Calgary Stampeders
Cover LB: Najee Murray, Montreal Alouettes
CB: Kabion Ento, Montreal Alouettes
CB: Garry Peters, BC Lions
HB: DaShaun Amos, Toronto Argonauts
HB: Abdul Kanneh, Ottawa Redblacks
S: Quincy Mauger, BC Lions

Special Teams

K: Rene Paredes, Calgary Stampeders
P: Richie Leone, Ottawa Redblacks
Returner: Javon Leake, Toronto Argonauts

Players of the Week

Quarterback of the Week: QB Dane Evans, BC Lions

With the game Evans played over the weekend, the Lions should feel incredibly confident going forward even if starting QB Vernon Adams Jr. has to miss more time. Evans was electric in his game, finishing the week with a league-high 90.2 passing grade. He had a 77.8% adjusted completion percentage while leading all starting QBs with a 12.1-yard average depth of target. He had three big-time throws while not making a single turnover-worthy play. Evans has made eight big-time throws to just two turnover-worthy plays over these last two games. While it’s unlikely that he genuinely threatens Adams' starting spot, he’s proving that he may be the most capable backup in the CFL.

Offensive Player of the Week: WR Tevin Jones, Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Roughriders fell behind early to the Argos and spent pretty much the entire game trying to pass their way back into it. While his teammate Shawn Bane Jr. had himself quite a game and scored the Riders’ lone touchdown, Jones may have been the more impressive receiver. He caught nine passes for 132 yards and six first downs. He had two contested targets and caught both. He also forced five missed tackles after the catch. His only real misstep in this game was a dropped pass on second down in which a defender flashed in front of him. Jones has 10 missed tackles forced this season (third among WRs) and his 2.12 yards per route run average ranks seventh.

Offensive Line of the Week: BC Lions

The Lions offensive line had a field day against the hapless Edmonton Elks’ defense. Run or pass blocking, it didn’t matter; BC was dominant. While it did allow four sacks, it only allowed two other pressures in 42 pass block snaps. That 14.3% pressure rate was the lowest of the week. In the run game, BC's offensive line anchored an offense that gained 119 yards on 23 carries. More importantly, the Lions averaged an impressive 2.6 yards before contact per rush and only twice were they stopped for no gain or less. It’s no wonder they rolled to an easy victory.

Pass-Rusher of the Week: DI Mustafa Johnson, Montreal Alouettes

It was a dominant performance on the inside for Johnson, who could hardly be contained all game long. He rushed the passer 37 times and finished with a sack, a hit, four quarterback hurries and five additional pass rush wins. His 86.7 pass rush grade was the highest of the week by a large amount (second place Folarin Orimolade’s grade was 79.2). Johnson is the highest-graded pass rusher this season at 87.8. He has 27 total pressures but a ridiculous 15 additional wins. His 17% season-long pass rush win rate is the highest among interior defenders by far.

Run Defender of the Week: LB Frankie Griffin, Ottawa Redblacks

Griffin has been a run-stopper all season long, and this game was no different. He made five tackles in the run game, with four of those being defensive stops. His 80.9 run defense grade led all box players. His play was a big reason for Hamilton rushing for a measly 23 yards on 13 attempts. Griffin has 17 run stops this season, which leads the league by five. He’s also one of the surest tacklers in the CFL, missing on just 6.3% of his tackle attempts in the run game.

Coverage Player of the Week: CB Kabion Ento, Montreal Alouettes

The two games before the bye week were rough for Ento, who surrendered 11 catches for 203 yards and four TDs in those two games. Perhaps the bye week allowed him to reset because he came out flying this past week. Ento was targeted four times and allowed just one catch. That catch was a nine yards gain on first-and-20 in which he closed quickly and made the tackle. He had four pass breakups in coverage, twice peeling off his own coverage to go knock the ball away and stop a completion. And that isn’t even counting his pick-six. When it was all said and done, Ento finished with a 91.8 coverage grade, one of the highest single-game marks of the season.