- Why was Edmonton QB Tre Ford sitting for so long: He had an 88.9% adjusted completion rate and threw three big-time throws compared to just one turnover-worthy play. His 90.3 passing grade led all quarterbacks this week
- Big night for RB James Butler of Hamilton: Butler had 14 rushing attempts and turned those into a league-leading 114 yards. Over 70% of those yards were gained after first contact, and he also broke three tackles. For good measure, Butler caught three passes for 31 yards and a first down.
- Roughriders’ pass rush has a day: That charge was led by Anthony Lanier, who finished the game with a sack, two hits and five hurries. He also had three other pass rush wins. His 78.9 pass-rush grade was the highest among edge rushers for the week.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Week 11 is over and we have finally seen the first win of the season for the Edmonton Elks. It’s no surprise that the “Team of the Week” has a few of them scattered throughout, but the Calgary Stampeders and the Montreal Alouettes led the way with five players apiece. Every team that played this week had at least one player listed, with the Ottawa Redblacks being the lone team with just one player.
Team of the Week
Offense
- QB: Tre Ford, Edmonton Elks
- RB: James Butler, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Outside WR: Alexander Hollins, BC Lions
- Slot WR: Steven Dunbar Jr., Edmonton Elks
- Slot WR: Tim White, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
- Slot WR: Tyler Snead, Montreal Alouettes
- Outside WR: Austin Mack, Montreal Alouettes
- LT: Bryce Bell, Calgary Stampeders
- LG: Pier-Olivier Lestage, Montreal Alouettes
- C: Chris Kolankowski, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- RG: Tomas Jack-Kurdyla, Edmonton Elks
- RT: Brett Boyko, Edmonton Elks
Defense
- DI: Micah Johnson, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- DI: Mustafa Johnson, Montreal Alouettes
- Edge: David Menard, BC Lions
- Edge: Anthony Lanier II, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- LB: Tyrell Richards, Montreal Alouettes
- LB: Josh Woods, BC Lions
- Cover LB: Titus Wall, Calgary Stampeders
- CB: Demerio Houston, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- CB: Sherrod Baltimore, Ottawa Redblacks
- HB: Kobe Williams, Calgary Stampeders
- HB: T.J. Lee, BC Lions
- S: Branden Dozier, Calgary Stampeders
Special Teams
- K: Brett Lauther, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- P: Jamieson Sheahan, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Returner: Tommylee Lewis, Calgary Stampeders
Players of the Week
Quarterback of the Week: QB Tre Ford, Edmonton Elks
Watching what Ford did this week in leading Edmonton to its first win of the season makes you wonder why it took this long for him to get a chance to start. Nonetheless, he sure made the most of it. His numbers weren’t over-the-top impressive, but he had an 88.9% adjusted completion rate and threw three big-time throws compared to just one turnover-worthy play. His 90.3 passing grade led all quarterbacks this week. Plus, he gained 58 yards and four first downs on the ground for a 75.5 rushing grade, second among quarterbacks. It’s no surprise that his 91.7 overall grade led all players this week.
Offensive Player of the Week: RB James Butler, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
With Hamilton down to its third-string quarterback, the thought was that the team would lean on Butler. The Tiger-Cats went down early, which took away from Butler’s touches a bit, but he made them count when he got them. Butler recorded 14 rushing attempts and turned those into a league-leading 114 yards. Over 70% of those yards were gained after first contact, and he also broke three tackles. For good measure, Butler caught three passes for 31 yards and a first down. Butler’s 89.1 rushing grade this season is third, and his 34 missed tackles forced ranks second.
Offensive Line of the Week: Edmonton Elks
While Ford played a huge part in that first win, the amazing play of his offensive line is what allowed him to shine. The Elks managed to rush for 149 yards on designed runs, with 48 of those yards coming before contact. However, it was their pass-blocking that got them here. The Elks didn’t allow a single sack, hit or quarterback pressure. In fact, nobody on their offensive line had a single pass rush loss this week. Talk about a dominant performance.
Pass-Rusher of the Week: EDGE Anthony Lanier Ii, Saskatchewan Roughriders
It was a massive win for the Roughriders this week, thanks largely in part to the pressure they got on BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. That charge was led by Lanier, who finished the game with a sack, two hits and five hurries. He also had three other pass rush wins. His 78.9 pass-rush grade was the highest among edge rushers for the week. Lanier now has the highest pass-rush grade among edge rushers this season at 84.7 and also has the highest pass-rush win percentage of any pass-rusher at 21.8%.
Run Defender of the Week: LB Tyrell Richards, Montreal Alouettes
While it wasn’t a great day for the Alouettes defense as a whole, it wasn’t because of Richards’ play. Despite giving up 150 yards on 27 designed runs, Richards finished as the highest-graded run defender this week. He made five total tackles, three of which were defensive stops. He didn’t have a single negatively graded play against the run. All that factored into his run defense grade of 78.8, which led all box defenders this week.
Coverage Player of the Week: CB Sherrod Baltimore, Ottawa Redblacks
It’s been an up-and-down stretch for Baltimore since he returned to the Redblacks lineup in Week 6. Nevertheless, this was his highest-graded game of the season with a 79.5 coverage grade. Despite seeing a season-high nine targets and surrendering five catches, Baltimore kept it all in front of him. He surrendered just 44 yards on those five catches and just two first downs. He had an interception and another pass breakup to go along with two defensive stops and zero missed tackles in coverage.
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